


Don't Get in His Way

by LyraMaeRose



Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Nakamaship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-18
Updated: 2016-06-17
Packaged: 2018-06-09 05:38:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 31,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6892327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LyraMaeRose/pseuds/LyraMaeRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of one-shots, featuring Luffy and the rest of the crew. Don't mess with the Straw Hat pirates, especially the captain. If you get in his way, watch out for the other eight. </p><p>Nakamaship. No pairings whatsoever. (Also includes SPECIAL BONUS of people besides the Straw-Hats!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nami

"Luffy!" A female voice called his name. Said person looked away from the sea and up to where his friend had called him.

"Huh? What is it, Nami?"

"A storm's coming. A big one, by the looks of it." Nami said, glancing at the storm cloud a few feet away from them. "I already told everyone to go inside, all that's left is for you to get out of your damn special seat and help Sanji manage the sails."

Luffy grabbed his fishing pole and quickly jumped over to her. The rubber man laughed and gave Nami a wide grin. "Okay! I'll leave the storm to you, Navigator!"

Nami's eyes widened, taken aback. "Luffy..."

Those words were the one she had been waiting to hear for the past two years. Since she read that  _terrible_  newspaper headline on that fateful day, she knew that Luffy would never be the same again. Her rubber idiot of a captain was scarred for life, and it took everything in her not to try and steal a boat again to sail back to his side. (She was a navigator. Unlike the others, she could probably be where he was with no problem if she tried.)

She knew that the crew was totally independent of the captain, and vice versa. But after reading that horrible,  _horrible_  newspaper, she wished that for once Luffy would try and leave things up to them. The burden of a captain is extremely heavy, that's why Nami wanted to help lessen the weight, even if it's just a little.

She wanted him to trust them to do it for him. She wanted him to call her as his navigator again.

And just now, both of her wishes came true. Nami felt like she could bawl in relief as tears were forming in her eyes. "...finally."

"Huh? Did you say something?" Luffy said, glancing back at the orange head - looking as innocent as ever.

Nami blinked the tears away, shook her head at him and smiled. "Nope!"

"Just hurry up and get over here, idiot!" Sanji shouted from the main mast behind them. The wind was getting stronger, and the storm cloud was getting closer.

"Alright, alright!" Luffy yelled back, sprinting over to where the blonde male was. Nami turned around and watched fondly as the captain and cook tried to position the sail and steady it, despite the harsh wind. Her eyes spared a glance at the X-shaped scar on Luffy's chest and silent rage boiled inside of her. But, she quickly pushed it down and took a deep breath instead. And slowly, she turned her gaze to the wide (not so innocent) eyes.

To an outsider, Luffy may seem okay.

But to Nami, Luffy's  _far_  from okay.

Right now, he was starting to recover as he entrusted the entire lives of his crew to her, his hand-picked navigator. And she'd rather die than letting him down ( _again_ ).

"Leave it to me, Captain. I'll take care of this storm." Nami quickly turned around and faced the approaching storm cloud with a stronger sense of determination. "You don't need to worry about a thing."

The storm looked like it was mocking her, merely growing bigger in size and strength.  _Just try, child,_ it seemed to say.  _Try to defeat me._

Nami's eye twitched and she pulled her Clima-Tact from her pocket, gripping it tight as the weapon grew to its original length.

"My captain's finally trusting us again." Nami quietly whispered, her orange bangs covering her eyes. "He's finally starting to heal."

Bubbles started to fly out of the Clima-Tact, with its contents filled with tiny storm clouds. The bubbles flew around the bigger storm cloud, surrounding it. Nami flipped her weapon in her hand and pointed it towards the heart of the storm.

"Luffy's going to be the Pirate King, but he needs to find One Piece to do that. I know that treasure's somewhere ahead of us." Nami murmured. "That's why..."

The storm bubbles began to grow in size, and it caused the bigger storm cloud to halt in its tracks. The bubbles continued to grow and grow until it's about half the size of the storm cloud. Nami gripped the Clima-Tact harder and she glared at the cloud before her.

_"_ _Don't get in my Captain's way!"_

* * *

For the next few days, the villagers of nearby islands were confused as there were no storm clouds in sight. Usually, a storm would occur at least twice a week. But so far, there were none. When people began to talk about it, some claimed that they saw a flash of yellow lightning coming from a nearby pirate ship and that lightning blasted the whole storm away. Some believed them, some not.

Besides, how could a pirate ship produce lightning anyway? That's impossible.

("Achoo!" Both the shipwright and the navigator sneezed simultaneously.)

**Elsewhere aboard The Thousand Sunny,**

"Hey, Nami. Why did you use your Clima-Tact when we can get out of there with Franky's Coup de Burst?"

"I wanted to test out my weapon a little."

"Why? Your weapon is good as it is."

"Well, just in case-LUFFY, DON'T YOU DARE EAT THAT!"

"I wasn't going to eat it! I was going to use it as bait for the fishes!"

"Oh, okay-AS IF I'LL LET YOU USE IT AS BAIT, IDIOT! GIVE ME THAT TANGERINE BACK!"


	2. Sanji

"Dis ish gud!" Luffy said with a mouthful of his third meal.

"Yeah, I have to admit. This is nice." Sanji nodded, inspecting the perfectly cooked meat with his fork. "Your chef is pretty good, Mr."

"Oh, thank you. I'm sure he'd be pleased to hear that." The bartender smiled.

The two of them were in the local bar of the island they just docked to. Everyone split up and agreed to go back to the ship in three hours. Nami and Robin went shopping, Chopper and Usopp went to the forest to find any good medical herbs, Zoro and Brook went to the swords shop and Franky went to search for shipwright things. That left Sanji to take care of their idiotic captain, not that he mind. The chef already got more than enough food stock from the last island, so basically he didn't have anything to do except for babysitting Luffy.

And now, both of them are enjoying (in Luffy's case, third) lunch in the bar. The customers were loud and most of them didn't look like they were from the island. Sanji could point out a few that must've been pirates.

"It's a bit under-seasoned, but all in all, it's worthy." Sanji complimented.

"Mm!" Luffy swallowed his meat and grinned. "My cook's cooking is still better!"

Said chef snorted. "Of course. If you want, I'll make an even better one later."

"Really?" Luffy's eyes brightened with excitement. "Then, I'll leave it to you, Cook!"

Sanji froze for a nanosecond and his eyes widened before he quickly recovered and simply nodded. "...Yeah, leave it to me, Captain." He said with a fond smile.

Luffy laughed and continued eating his lunch, with Sanji doing the same. Then, a stranger came and sat next to Luffy.

"Hey, kid." The man said. Sanji glanced at him suspiciously while Luffy looked up from his meal and said, "What?"

"There's going to be a parade this afternoon at the main square. You interested in watching?" The man asked Luffy.

Luffy beamed. "Really, old man?"

The stranger's eye twitched at the nickname, but he controlled himself and nodded. "Yeah. Why don't you ask your friend to come too?"

Luffy thought that was a good idea, and he turned to Sanji with stars in his eyes. "Can we? Can we? Can we?"

"Can we, what?" Sanji asked annoyingly, glancing at the stranger.

"Watch the parade!" Luffy replied. "Old man here said-"

But, Sanji didn't hear the rest as he was too focused at what the man  _accidentally_ dropped to Luffy's meal. Sanji looked closer at exactly what, and only saw red when he confirmed the mystery object. But, he composed himself and focused back to what Luffy was saying.

"-the parade! That's why can we see the parade?" Luffy continued on, oblivious to what the stranger just did.

"Yeah, we can," Sanji smiled, hiding his true emotions. "Why don't you go there now? I'll catch up with you later."

Luffy grinned happily and nodded. "Okay!" Then, the younger boy stood up from his seat and instantly ran outside the bar.

"O-Oi!" The stranger said, not expecting him to run off. "What about your meal?"

"I'll take it for him," Sanji said, moving closer to Luffy's seat. "Hey, Mr! I want to order one meat to take away, please!"

"Of course, Sir." The bartender answered, retreating back to his kitchen. The stranger let out a pissed 'tch' and glanced at Sanji. "Hey, blondie. Why don't you-"

"What did you do to his meal?" Sanji hissed, grabbing the plate before him.

The man seemed to be taken aback, but he hid it by letting out a low chuckle. "Why, I was going to make it tastier. You said it yourself, right? It's a bit  _under-seasoned_."

Sanji said nothing and walked closer to him. "Don't you know his name?"

"Yeah, the more reason to do so!" The man exclaimed. "He's an idiot, after all! It'd be so easy to-"

But the man couldn't finish his sentence as Sanji quickly grabbed his collar with no mercy. The stranger's face was full of fear and panic when he stuttered, "W-What are you doing?"

"You made three mistakes today." Sanji murmured, a deathly glint shown in his eye. "First, you wasted this good-tasting food in front of me." The blond gripped the collar harder and the stranger's breath hitched in fear.

"Second, you insulted my captain." The hand was shaking in rage now, making the man gulp nervously.

"And third," Sanji glared at him with his fiercest death glare yet. " _You tried to drug Luffy_."

The man was sweating rapidly, but somehow he had enough guts to say, "W-Who are you, anyway?"

Sanji's eye twitched. "I'm his cook, Black Leg Sanji."

The stranger physically paled when he heard the name. "B-Black Leg?"

Sanji sighed.  _At least, you know that name._ But, he brushed it off and continued.

"For the first time in two years, my captain called me his cook again. He trusted me to cook him an amazing dinner tonight." Sanji said as a dark aura formed around him. "But you tried to prevent that from happening."

The man's eyes widened and he squirmed in Sanji's death grip. "W-Wait, I can explain-"

"If Luffy ate what you had given him, he won't be the Pirate King. That's explanation enough." Sanji finally hit his patience limit and his right leg started to burn.

The man knew what he was going to do, so he started to sweat more rapidly. "I-I didn't want to do it! M-My boss ordered me to!" The man reasoned.

"Well then, tell your  _boss_  my message." Sanji let go of the man and quickly kicked him right in his stomach. The man screamed from the burning pain and coughed up blood, but Sanji didn't look the slightest bit apologetic. If possible, his death glare grew more fierce instead.

_"_ _Don't get in my Captain's way!"_

* * *

Later on, the townspeople would scream in fear and disgust when they saw a bloodied man limping away. When one of them had the courage to ask what happened, the man only mumbled,  _"Black leg...cook."_ and continued limping forward, away from the confused townspeople.

**Elsewhere at the bar,**

"Hey, Sanji! The old man lied! When I got to the square, there was no-What happened here?"

"Nothing. Some guy made a ruckus, that's all. Here, your meat."

"Ah, thank you! Anyway, when I asked the townspeople, no one said they were going to have a parade!"

"Oh, really? That's a bummer."

"It is! I was  _so_  disappointed when they told me."

"...How about we have our own parade later? There's enough space on the Sunny."

"Oh, good idea!"


	3. Robin

"Robin, what's that?" Luffy asked, pointing to a circular plate behind the glass display.

"That's a tin-glazed pottery made from earthenware. It seems to be from a few hundred years ago." Robin inspected, adjusting her sunglasses above her forehead.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Luffy squeezed his head against the glass.

"In short, it's a plate made with fire." Robin answered.

Luffy's eyes lit up at the explanation. "Really? Can we make it?"

Robin looked at the glass display and into the content of the store. "I don't see why not. They're apparently selling the ingredients we need to make the plates."

"Can you make it for me, Robin?" Luffy pulled his head from the display and asked his archeologist with a hopeful smile.

Robin nodded. "Yes, I can. I can also tell you the history of these plates too if you want."

Luffy's smile turned to a grin and he beamed. "Alright! Then I'll leave it to you, Archeologist!"

Robin's calm face faltered and her eyes widened, but Luffy either didn't see it or ignored it as he stormed into the store and asked the owner for the ingredients to make 'those tin plates stuff'. Robin stood where she was and watched her captain search the whole store as he was too impatient to wait for the owner to get it all.

Robin couldn't help but giggle at the sight. "Leave it to me, Captain-san." The young woman murmured fondly.

But suddenly, out of the corner of her eyes, Robin saw a few bounty hunters approaching the store. She recognized them as one of the infamous bounty hunters, the ones that managed to capture pirates with bounties exceeding one hundred million. They're a force to be reckoned with.

_Or that's what people think._  Robin thought as she quickly put on her sunglasses so that they won't recognize her.

Apparently, one of the bounty hunters managed to see Luffy inside the pottery store as he nudged his friends and pointed at him. "Oi, look over there. It's Straw-Hat Luffy."

"Oh, you're right! Well, boys. Today's our lucky day! We'll be taking home four hundred million berries tonight!" The bounty hunter shouted as the others chuckled beside him.

Then, the group split up and went to separate directions. Two of them hid behind the store bushes, two of them stood behind the two alleys beside the store and two of them stood beside the store door. Everyone was in their position, ready to take out one of the eleven supernovas.

In the midst of all this, Robin remained on her spot and continued to watch Luffy inside the store.

One of the bounty hunters that was hiding in the alley noticed her and sent her a small smile. "Young lady, you may want to go away from here."

Robin kept her poker face on as she asked, "Why?"

"Because we're going to raid the store." The bounty hunter explained. "See that idiot with the straw hat over there? He doesn't look like it, but he has a pretty high bounty. We're going to take him to the marines so that we can get four hundred million berries to pay for our dinner tonight."

Robin's face held no emotion, but she unconsciously gripped her bag tighter at how the bounty hunter described Luffy.

"That's why, young lady. So, I suggest you to-"

Robin quickly raised her hands and whispered,  _"Dieciocho Fleurs."_

Instantly three arms sprouted from each bounty hunter, including the one who was talking to her. The arms gripped their shoulder, stomach, and weapon, restraining them from any movement.

"W-What is this!?" he shouted, surprised at what he was seeing.

Robin narrowed her eyes at his loud voice. She didn't want Luffy to notice them.  _"Seis Fleurs."_

Then, an extra arm sprouted from his neck and covered his mouth, muffling his voice. The same thing happened with the rest of the bounty hunters.

"That idiot with the straw hat is my captain." Robin murmured. The bounty hunter's eyes widened, and for the first time, took a quick look at Robin's appearance.

"N-Nyico Wobin!?" The bounty hunter half-shouted behind her hand.

Robin smiled and removed her sunglasses. "Yeah, you're right. I'm his archeologist, Nico Robin."

The bounty hunter paled and struggled to get away, but Robin's arms merely gripped him tighter.

"You did a brave thing today, trying to capture my captain in front of me," Robin said calmly, though her eyes showed something more...evil. "But sadly, I can't let you do that."

"W-Wai'! We were jwoking!" The bounty hunter desperately reasoned, his eyes looking more panicked.

Robin smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "You know, Luffy finally called me his archeologist again earlier. He trusted me to make him a tin-glazed plate with the others. He also wanted me to tell him the history of those plates." Robin's smile grew more sincere at the thought. "You don't know how happy I am to hear that for the first time in two years."

But the bounty hunter didn't listen. Like his friends, the man was too focused trying to get away, but Robin's arms held them down like a death grip.

Robin focused back on the present and frowned at the man. "If you and your friends take Luffy to the marines, he won't become the Pirate King. That's his dream, you know."

"L-Let ush go! W-We ment no hawm!" The bounty hunter's muffled voice rang out. But, Robin didn't believe them at all as she willed her arms to grip them tighter, making the bounty hunters wince in pain.

"You tried to end Luffy's dream. For that, I'll never forgive you." Robin's cold voice sent shivers down their spines, and her glare made the man gulp nervously. "Pass this on to your fellow bounty hunters, if you live."

The bounty hunters trembled, fearing the worst. Robin's arms slowly pulled them backward, and before they could scream or shout, Robin whispered one last sentence that will haunt them forever.

_"_ _Don't get in my Captain's way."_

* * *

 

When the other bounty hunters searched for their friends, they were horrified to see them lying on the ground, not moving. They went and inspected them and the area for any signs of the one who did this.

But, all they saw were pink flower petals.

When they interrogated the conscious ones, the only thing they got was,  _"Women...are s-scary."_

**Elsewhere on the island,**

"Hey, Robin."

"What is it, Luffy?"

"I saw that you were talking to someone back there. Who were you talking to?"

"Some random stranger. He wanted me to move aside."

"And? Did you?"

"No, but I told him some advice to get to his destination."

"Oh, okay then. I'm so excited to make this with the others!"

"Me too, Luffy. What did you buy, anyway?"

"This!"

"Isn't that a bit too much?"

"Nah! Too much is never enough!"

"Fufufu. I guess you're right."


	4. Chopper

"This is an awesome jungle!" Luffy cried out, looking at his surroundings in awe. "Isn't it awesome, Chopper?"

"Yes, it is! I've never seen a humongous jungle like this before! The New World really is unpredictable." Chopper stated, looking very interested at the medical herbs that may be here. Maybe he'll learn something new about them!

"I wonder if there's any meat here! Maybe a meat tree or-! Oh, I know! A meat fountain!" Drool came out of Luffy's mouth as he imagined the meat in his head. Chopper followed suit, imagining cotton candy clouds and milk waterfalls. "That would be great!"

Then, Luffy spotted some colorful mushrooms on his right. The raven-haired boy grinned and he quickly ran towards them. "Look, Chopper! I found some cool-looking mushrooms!" Luffy said, picking one particular mushroom off the ground.

Chopper broke out of his imagining daze and turned to where Luffy and the mushrooms were. The reindeer's eyes widened in panic as he recognized the mushroom in his captain's hands. "Stop, Luffy! Don't eat it!"

Luffy halted and turned to face his doctor in confusion. "Why? It looks delicious!"

Chopper ignored him as he ran towards Luffy and grabbed the mushroom from the boy's hands. "This is something you must not eat, Luffy! Don't you know what this mushroom is?"

Luffy merely scratched the back of his head as he gave his doctor a frown. "No, why should I?"

"You have to know, Luffy! This is a poisonous mushroom!" Chopper cried out. "If you eat it, it'll become fatal in ten minutes! What would happen if you eat one by accident? What if-!"

"If that happens, then I'll just go to you, Chopper. You're my doctor, after all." Luffy simply answered, flashing his signature grin to the reindeer.

Chopper just stood there, taken aback at the simple words that came from Luffy's mouth. He was, once again, speechless at how Luffy could always ease his worries with just a simple saying. To other people, it's not important and they would just ignore it as one of the rubber boy's whims.

But to Chopper, it was one of the most meaningful words he had ever heard. "Luffy..."

Said boy was oblivious to the inner turmoil he had caused and patted Chopper's head affectionately. "If something happens to me or the crew, then I'm counting on you to patch us up, Doctor." Luffy said cheerfully with his infamous grin.

Chopper's breath hitched and he felt tears starting to form in his eyes. But, he didn't care. All he cared about at the moment was the words his captain had said to him. The words that Chopper had been waiting to hear these past two years. To be honest, Chopper had thought that he'll never hear his captain say those words ever again.

Because two years ago, Chopper had failed to be by Luffy's side. Because that Kuma bastard had sent them flying to different parts of the Grand Line, Chopper was separated from the crew. He wasn't there when Luffy went to war to save his older brother. He wasn't there when Luffy got all of those horrible injuries that he  _still_  don't know in detail! And, he wasn't there when Luffy lost his older brother. He wasn't there when Luffy was suffering from the pain. He wasn't there when Luffy needed him.

Although Chopper was a doctor –  _Luffy's_  doctor – he wasn't there when Luffy had gotten hurt. And even if he was there, he doubted that he'd be able to heal every single injury. Sure, he could heal the physical ones. But, he could never heal the wounds deep inside Luffy. The wounds that make him still see pain and sadness in Luffy's eyes up to this day. The wounds that make him still see Luffy have nightmares every few weeks. The wounds that make his captain look so young and fragile yet old and mature.

He couldn't heal those wounds. He could never heal those wounds. No matter what treatment or medicine he could give him, those wounds would never truly disappear.

Chopper had feared that he'd never hear his captain's soothing words again. Chopper had feared that he'd never hear his captain say that he'd trust him to heal his injuries in the future.

Yet here he was, two agonising long years later, hearing his young captain say those exact same words in front of him.

Chopper could never be happier.

"Luffy..." Chopper murmured before blinking his tears away and sending the boy a confident grin. "Alright, leave it to me, Captain!"

Luffy laughed and continued to explore the jungle, Chopper trailing close behind him. The duo inspected every unique-looking plant and Chopper made sure that Luffy didn't touch any dangerous ones.

When they were in the middle of inspecting a new kind of flower, however, Chopper heard something move above him. The reindeer looked up and sniffed the air. The doctor's suspicion was confirmed as he recognized the scent of a wild snake on the tree branches. Thanks to his two-year training, Chopper could identify if the animal was a friend or foe, depending on the animal's intention and scent.

That snake was definitely a foe.

"Luffy." Chopper's voice was calm and confident as he didn't want to worry the raven-haired boy. "I saw a cool-looking plant over there. Why don't you check it out? I still want to inspect this flower."

"Really? Okay, then!" Luffy's eyes brightened up and he quickly turned at the direction Chopper had pointed to, away from him and the snake.

Relieved that Luffy wasn't near him anymore, Chopper turned back to the snake. Apparently, the snake had no interest in Chopper as its eyes followed Luffy's figure in a way a predator would look at his prey.

Chopper despised that look, even more so when it was directed to  _Luffy_. "What are you doing?"

The snake's eyes wandered back to Chopper's small form and hissed.  _"I have no interest in you, small fry. I'm interested in that delicious boy over there. He has the potential to be a good meal."_

"That boy's not a meal." Chopper gritted out.

_"Oh, he will be. Don't get in the way of me and my lunch, brat."_  The snake stated, slowly moving away from branch to branch, getting nearer to Luffy in every step.

"I should be the one saying that." Chopper murmured as he quickly turned into Brain Point and grabbed the snake off the branch. The snake's eyes widened and it squirmed in Chopper's grasp.  _"Let go of me!"_

"That boy over there is my Captain, you know. I'm his doctor, Chopper. We're going to the end of the New World, and he'll be the Pirate King." Chopper said, not loosening his grip on the snake.

_"Like I give a damn! That boy's my lunch!"_  The snake managed to say. This only made Chopper gripped him even tighter.

"Luffy trusted me to take care of him and the rest of the crew. He said that to me earlier, since I'm his doctor." Chopper couldn't help but smile, despite what he was doing to the snake. "It's the first time I hear him say that in two years. It made me really happy."

The snake ignored the reindeer and tried to bite his hand off. Chopper noticed and quickly grabbed the snake's mouth, snapping it shut. The snake squirmed harder, but to no avail. Chopper narrowed his eyes at him, his eyes showing a glint of evil and rage.

"If you eat Luffy today, he won't be the Pirate King. Everything he did would've gone to waste. It would all be for nothing." Chopper calmly stated. "I would never let that happen, not on my watch."

The snake was starting to get desperate. He finally acknowledged the fact that Chopper was stronger than him, and he was starting to get scared.  _"Wait, I changed my mind! I won't eat him! He's too disgusting for me to eat!"_

"Now, you insulted him. Your chances of survival are getting low, snake." Chopper smirked. The snake realized his mistake and he started to sweat. ( _Can snakes even sweat?_  Chopper mentally sweat-dropped.)

"Before I kill you, let me say one more thing as a reminder if you survive." Chopper glared as he readied his fist. The snake could only shake in fear as the reindeer glared with an evil aura surrounding him.

_"Don't get in my Captain's way."_

* * *

The animals living in the jungle were confused. Usually, the neighbouring snake would come and intimidate them to get a snack. He'd usually come every week. But, he hasn't come to them yet.

One of the animals volunteered to search for the snake, and when he came back, he was holding the snake's dead head. The animals didn't know if they were happy that the snake was dead or scared of the one that killed it.

**Elsewhere in the jungle,**

"Chopper, there you are! What took you so long?"

"Oh, there was some snake in front of me. But don't worry, he's not there anymore."

"You took care of it?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, okay. Anyway, look! This plant was trying to bite my hand the whole time. It was very funny!"

"Really? That's goo-WHAT!? LUFFY, STOP! GET AWAY FROM THAT! IT'S A MAN-EATING PLANT!"

"Relax, Chopper! I'm rubber, remember?"

"Oh yeah, okay then-I DON'T CARE! IT CAN STILL EAT YOU, YOU IDIOT! GET AWAY FROM IT! GET AWAY! GEET AWAAAAYY!"

"Hahaha! This jungle is fun!"

"IT IS MOST DEFINITELY NOT!"


	5. Franky

"I'm bored," Luffy whined, lying on the deck.

Franky sighed, not bothering to look up from his newspaper. "Of course, you are."

"I want to go look around!" Luffy pouted as he rolled around the floor.

"Nami told us to watch the ship, Luffy. Besides, the island probably is boring." Franky stated, glancing at the island they docked to.

"But there's a village, Franky! I want to go there!" Luffy sat up and pointed to it, looking at his friend with a pout. True to his word, there was a village just a few miles away. Nami and the rest of the crew had gone there to stock up on their supplies.

"The village probably is boring too," Franky stated matter-of-factly.

Luffy shook his head, "You don't know that! Maybe, it's cool and awesome!" The captain had a thoughtful look on his face and drool came out of his mouth. "Maybe, there's a meat store!"

"If you go there, Nami will be  _SUPER_  mad." The cyborg reminded, flipping his newspaper to the next page. "She instructed us both to keep the ship safe and wait for the others to come back. They said they're going to be back after around three hours, remember?"

Luffy groaned dramatically and lied back down on the deck. "But, that's too long! You can't expect me to just sit here and stay still for three hours! I'll die of boredom."

"You won't die of boredom, Luffy. That's just ridiculous."

"Still! I want to go!"

"What if something happens to the ship when you go?" Franky asked as he was about to flip another page.

The captain didn't even think twice before saying, "Then I'll leave that to you, Franky. You are the shipwright, after all!" Luffy glanced at Franky and gave him a grin. "I can trust you!"

Franky's breath hitched. His jaw dropped in the slightest and the cyborg almost dropped the newspaper to the ground. Luffy didn't see it but behind Franky's sunglasses, the cyborg's eyes expanded and his eyebrows raised a notch.

 _Luffy._  Franky thought with his lips trembling.  _Finally, after two long years, I can finally hear you say that again._

It took everything in him not to cry right there and then.

"Franky, what's wrong?" The cyborg was snapped from his thoughts when he heard Luffy's voice calling out to him. Franky turned around to see Luffy staring at him.

Franky's eyebrows furrowed when he noticed the almost worried frown on his captain's face, so he quickly blinked the tears away and continued reading the newspaper like normal. "Nothing. But like I said, Nami would be mad if she sees you in the village."

With his friend acting like himself again, Luffy smiled in relief for a brief second before he went back to his whining. "Ugh, I know! But, still-"

"That's why don't get caught."

"I want to-Huh?" Luffy halted as he took in what his friend had just said. Franky put the newspaper down and turned around to give his captain a sincere smile. "Just go, and don't let anyone see you."

Luffy stared at him for a few seconds, before his smile turned into a wide grin and Luffy's eyes lighted up like a little kid in a candy store (in Luffy's case, a meat store). "Really?"

Franky nodded and waved his hand to 'shoo' his captain. "Yeah, go ahead."

Luffy quickly sat up, not needing to be told again. "Thanks, Franky!" The captain said as he jumped off the deck and ran towards the village.

The shipwright stood up and walked to the railing of the ship. "But be back in an hour, Luffy! You have to be here when the others arrive." Franky yelled, before he had a thoughtful look on his face and added, "And, don't get lost!"

"I won't, I'm not Zoro!" Luffy replied, still grinning. The boy glanced at Franky once more and waved his hand. "Take care of Sunny for me, Shipwright!"

Franky's chest almost burst with joy (even thought it was metal) and the cyborg's smile threatened to split in half. "Alright, you can count on me, Captain! I'll make sure nothing happens to Sunny!"

"Yeah!" Luffy said, running further and further until he was finally out of sight. Franky chuckled and walked back to his seat, flopping down onto it as he retrieved back the newspaper. Three hours was a pretty long time, so he had to do  _something._

A few feet away, a large group of pirates marched towards the dock and set their eyes on the Thousand Sunny. The man with a captain's coat smirked and he turned around to his crewmates, pointing the ship with his left hand. "Look at this, boys! This will be our new pirate ship!"

The crew's eyes lighted up and all of them jumped gleefully. "Alright, Captain! You found a good one!" The crew members shouted.

The captain laughed and said, "Of course I did!"

One of the men inspected the ship and noticed the Jolly Roger it had on its mast. "W-Wait, Captain! This ship already has a Jolly Roger!"

The captain waved him off and confidently said, "Doesn't matter, boys! I am the man that will be the Pirate King someday, I can easily throw that pirate crew off board and we'll depart in no time!"

His crew behind him cheered even more and they put their hands up in the air.

"Alright, Captain!"

"You're so cool!"

"That's our captain!"

Franky heard the commotion from the deck and scowled annoyingly. "What's all the fuss down there?" The cyborg mumbled as he got up and went to check. When he came near the railing, he saw a group of pirates approaching the Thousand Sunny.

 _That's odd._  Franky thought.  _Nami didn't say that we'd have guests._  "Wait a second, who are you guys?"

The captain spotted Franky on the deck and grinned. "We are the newly formed King Pirates! We like this ship, so we'll be taking it!"

Franky took off his sunglasses and frowned. "King Pirates? What are you, a king?"

The captain's smile widened and he had an I'm-glad-you-asked look on his face. "Yes. Someday, I'll be the Pirate King and I'll be the richest man in the world!" The captain laughed out loud. He had a mysterious glint in his eyes and smirked. "But to do that, I'll need a ship! So, get off my ship, you brat!"

Franky's eye twitched at the man who had dared to call Sunny his and quickly put on his sunglasses back. "This isn't your ship, it's my Captain's ship."

"Oh, really? Where is your captain, then? I need to get him off my ship too." The captain answered, smirking. Franky gripped the railing hard and narrowed his eyes. This man was seriously getting on his nerves. "I told you, this isn't your ship and it never will be. It only belongs to my Captain."

The captain gritted his teeth in annoyance, then he pulled out his gun and aimed it at the cyborg. "Who are you, bastard? I'm a pirate captain!" The captain cried out. He took out a bounty poster from his pocket and showed it to Franky. "My bounty's around thirty million berries so don't even bother fighting me."

Franky merely raised an eyebrow at him and the poster. Then, he walked off the ship and made his way towards the captain and his crew. At this moment, one of the men finally took a good look at Franky and his eyes widened in fear when he realized who their enemy was. "S-Stop, Captain! You can't fight him!"

The captain turned to him with annoyance. "Why? I could easily beat him and his captain! He's probably weak, anyway!" A vein popped to Franky's head when he heard that and he balled his fists in anger.

"You can't, Captain! Don't you recognize him?" The man shakily pulled out a bounty poster from his bad and held it to the captain. "That's the Straw-Hat's shipwright, Cyborg Franky! He has a bounty of forty-four million berries!"

The captain, who was earlier confident and arrogant, was now turning pale as he took in what his underling had just said. "...S-Straw-Hat?" The man stuttered out, glancing back at the cyborg.

Franky tilted his head in confusion. "What, you didn't know? I thought the Jolly Roger was a dead giveaway."

The captain was now trembling, and his hand that was holding the gun shook. "I-If you're a Straw-Hat, t-then your captain is…"

Franky smirked when he proudly answered, "Straw-Hat Luffy."

The captain paled even more as he recalled what he had said about the captain. When he saw Franky walking closer to him, the man shook his head and tried to hide his fear with a (not so) brave smirk. "D-Doesn't matter! I can still beat you and take this ship! Then, I'll be the Pirate King!"

Franky stopped before the man and stared at him with a sinister smile. "You think I'll let you do that, eh?" The cyborg bumped his large fists together and small sparks of electricity charged throughout his body.

The group of pirates stepped back in fear and some of them began to run away. The captain, however, stood right on his spot, frozen. "W-What are you doing?"

"Making sure you don't do anything to my captain's ship," Franky said as he retracted his fists and aimed his right arm towards the group. "Luffy trusted me to take care of Sunny until he gets back, and I won't betray his trust." The cyborg's lips turned to a small smile when he added, "He called me his shipwright, after all."

The pirate captain finally took a step back and Franky used that moment to strike.  _"Strong Right!"_

The forearm separated from Franky's body with a chain behind it, and it flew towards the King Pirates like a rocket. The pirates tried to avoid it, but the launched forearm was too fast for them as it slammed into the captain's stomach and hit the other pirates behind him. The arm let out a ball of fire at impact, causing the pirates to have burns throughout their bodies.

Franky's arm shot them all the way to the barrels, a few feet away from the ship. The pirates landed hard onto the ground, all groaning and wincing from the pain. The captain slowly sat up, favoring his left wrist, which had broken from the impact, and glared at Franky. "How dare you!"

"No, how dare  _you_." Franky glared back, seething as he reeled back his arm. "First, you called this ship yours, when it only belongs to my captain. I made it for Luffy, and only Luffy."

The pirate captain noticed the dark aura that had formed around Franky and wanted to run away, but for some reason, his body refused to move. Franky couldn't help but feel slightly satisfied to see the petrified look on his soon-to-be victim's face.

"Second, you said you were going to become the Pirate King. Sadly, that'll never happen." Franky resisted the urge to chuckle at the man's now puzzled face. "You want to know why? Because that title is for Luffy." Franky explained matter-of-factly. For a moment, Franky recalled when he asked Luffy to why he had wanted to become the Pirate King.

 _"Because the Pirate King has the most freedom in the sea,"_   _Luffy said with a grin._   _"I always wanted to be free!"_

And yet, this man just wanted the treasure. He wanted the same dream as Luffy, just because of the wealth. For Franky, it sounded like an insult to Luffy; who just wanted to have freedom.

"Being the Pirate King isn't about the wealth, it's about the freedom," Franky said as he got closer to the group. The cyborg's eyes started to grow more malice as he hissed, "How dare you want to become the Pirate King just because of the freaking treasure."

By now, the pirate captain had lost all confidence at defeating Franky and he tried to stand up and run away again, this time, succeeding. But, Franky was faster. He quickly gripped the captain's collar and lifted him up from the ground. The captain gasped and he struggled to get himself free.

"And third, you called my captain  _weak_." The shipwright's hand trembled in anger at even the consideration of the thought. In the midst of his struggle, the captain finally realized that  _that_  was his biggest mistake of the day.

"I would probably forgive you if you had only said that I'm weak. But, you made it personal when you brought up my captain too." The man glanced at Franky's eyes and his face lost all color. The cyborg's eyes were filled with rage that could be seen even through his sunglasses, and if looks could kill, the captain had no doubt that he and his crew would've been long gone by now.

"Luffy's anything but weak, you bastard haven't even met him yet you call him weak. You haven't seen him fight, you haven't seen him protect us, and you haven't seen our battles. Don't you dare call Luffy weak when you are absolutely _nothing_  like him!" Franky all but yelled at the man. The captain was too scared for his life to even care about the spit on his face.

Franky wanted to shout out more but thought better of it since that would probably take more than three hours (a day or two, maybe). Instead, Franky glanced at Sunny beside him and grabbed the collar of the captain to the side, so that he could look at the ship as well.

"This ship is going to help Luffy reach his dream. The Thousand Sunny was built for that sole purpose." Franky said, gazing at the ship. Then, he turned back to the pirate and hissed out, "If you had taken this ship, you would've have ruined not only Sunny's purpose but Luffy's dream as well. And for that, I'm never going to forgive you."

"I-I….I'm sorr-" The captain stuttered, but apparently Franky had had enough with him as he punched his face with his left hand. The force of the punch sent the captain flying out of Franky's grip, landing a mere few feet away from his crew.

Franky was beyond rage at the fact that despite everything he just said about both Luffy and Sunny, the man tried to freaking  _apologize_.

"Don't even try, you bastard."  _Didn't I just say that I'd never forgive you?_

The man was now trying to get up, even though his face was bruised and dripping blood. Franky's  _Strong Right_  had already knocked all of his crew out, so he was the only one conscious. Franky wasn't feeling the slightest bit guilty at what he had done (they deserved it), but he didn't want his hands to be dirtier than they already were.

Besides, if there were others like this arrogant pirate crew out there, they need to have a reminder (and an example of the consequences).

"I'll spare your lives for now, but tell this to your mates and friends when you see them." Franky readied his left arm and aimed it at the group. His knuckles opened upwards, disclosing the gun barrels underneath it.

The captain sweated rapidly and his eyes widened in utmost fear when he saw the barrels beginning to light up, ready to fire. He didn't even have time to scream; because before he knew it, raging hot pain exploded on his chest. The man fell backward and his vision began to darken. The last thing he heard before the darkness completely took over was like the words from the devil himself.

_"Don't get in my Captain's way."_

* * *

Later in the day, when the fishermen started to prepare for their fishing adventure, they would get the surprise of his life when they opened the barrels. Unconscious pirates were tucked into it like they were dead, but when the fishermen checked, all of them were still breathing.

When one pirate, in particular, managed to wake up and they questioned him, all he said was,  _"C-Cybor-…"_  and he had a terrified look on his face before he passed out again.

**Moments before,**

"Hey, Franky! I'm back!"

"Yo, Luffy! Took you long enough."

"Shishishi, sorry! I was too busy eating meat. I was right, there was a meat store!"

"Oh, really? Did the others see you?"

"Nope! I made sure to stay out of sight."

"Oh, that's _SUPER_! I'm not in the mood to be scolded by Nami again."

"By the way, Franky. Did anything happen when I was gone?"

"Well there were some guys who liked Sunny, but other than that…nope."

"Were they pirates?"

"Not even close."

"Really?"

"Yup."

"Okay then."

" **LUFFY!** I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO _NOT_ GO TO THE VILLAGE!?"

"I-I thought you weren't caught."

"I...thought so, too. Wait, w-weren't they supposed to come back in two hours?"

"Funny, I was thinking the exact same thing."


	6. Brook

"Akainu! Don't you dare touch them!" Luffy growled as he struggled with the sea-stone chains.

The fleet admiral merely chuckled. "Don't worry, Straw-Hat. I won't." Then, his hand slowly turned into a liquid hot texture that was frighteningly familiar. "But, my magma will."

"Stop!" Luffy yelled with a panicked wide-eyed expression, which was music to Akainu's ears.

"I'll just let you watch the show, Straw-Hat. It'll be like two years ago, though, so sadly it's not original." Akainu said with a sadistic smile. "But you probably won't mind, right?"

"Shut up, you bastard! Let my friends go!" Luffy shouted at the top of his lungs. The rubber boy tried to get the heavy chains off his body, but to no avail. The marines had gotten the strongest sea stone in the Grand Line, so it was no use.

Akainu watched the struggle with satisfaction before he advanced towards the rest of the Straw-Hat crew. All of them were chained to the wall, and Akainu was lucky enough to get the Drowsy Mushrooms that brat Komei had used to weaken all of them. Akainu couldn't help but laugh at the crew's unenergized faces. "I must say, you all look miserable."

The crew whimpered at him, not having the strength nor spirit to fight. Akainu stopped laughing and proceeded to make his magma covered hand grow larger.

"Akainu! I thought you said that you wanted to hurt me!" Luffy desperately cried out. "Leave my friends alone!"

"Oh, but I am hurting you, Straw-Hat." Akainu smirked at the captain. "The best way to hurt you is by hurting your crew, am I right?"

Luffy's eyes widened and he let out a sharp intake of breath. Pleased that his theory was confirmed, Akainu averted his gaze back to the crew. "Now, which one should die first?"

Luffy started to panic and he struggled harder. "No, stop! Don't you dare kill them!"

"Oh, I'm not the one that's going to kill them, Straw-Hat." Akainu said as he pointed his magma towards the crew. "You are."

Luffy gasped and his hands trembled. "M-Me?"

"That's right. It's your fault this happened, remember? If you hadn't been so careless, you and your crew wouldn't get caught." Akainu stated, his smirk growing wider. "Also, if you weren't sitting so helplessly two years ago when I tried to attack you, your brother wouldn't have to protect you and die."

Luffy's mouth trembled. "N-No, that's a lie."

"I never lie, Straw-Hat. I'm just stating the truth." Akainu answered. Then, he turned back from the helpless captain to the equally helpless crew and let out an evil chuckle. "Just sit there and watch as your friends die in front of your eyes."

Then, Akainu's hand striked. Luffy's eyes widened and could only watch as Akainu's magma came in contact with his friends' bodies and slowly took their life away.

"STOOO-

* * *

-OOOOP!"

Luffy bolted up from his bed and desperately looked around. He wasn't in the prison anymore, but rather in the men's quarters. Snores could be heard from the bunk beds and Luffy could identify a few. Luffy calmed down his racing heart and slowly took deep breaths.

"It's okay, it's just a dream." Luffy whispered to himself. "It's not real."

When his heart finally started beating in a normal rate, Luffy let out a tired sigh. The rubber boy lied back down and closed his eyes, trying to go back to sleep. But, it didn't come to him. After turning restlessly on his bed more than once, Luffy groaned and gave up on going to dreamland. The captain sat up and carefully got off the bed.

Then, he quietly walked over to every bed in the quarters. The nightmare was still haunting him, so Luffy wanted to see for himself that his friends were still alive.

Usopp was snoring and muttering about "the great Usopp-sama" while grinning like an idiot (though Luffy knew he wasn't one to talk). Sanji had slight drool dripping out of his mouth and the blonde's hands were positioned as if he was hugging a lady. Franky was snoring and drooling at the same time, and he was muttering about shipwright stuff that Luffy didn't understand at all. Chopper was drooling but he still looked cute, unlike the others. And, Zoro was just sleeping like usual. The Straw-Hat captain couldn't help but smile at the sight.

Then, Luffy walked out from the men's quarters and made his way to the women's. When he arrived, the captain slowly and carefully opened the door and saw Nami and Robin sleeping peacefully on their beds. Luffy smiled in satisfaction before he closed the door quietly and walked towards the deck.

The night was cold and the waves were calm. The scent of the sea welcomed Luffy as he stood upon the grass deck. For a minute, Luffy did nothing but gaze at the stars. The nightmare was still fresh in his mind, and Luffy could still feel his body trembling.

Luffy frowned, this wouldn't do. If he continued to be like this, there's a chance that his nightmare would come true. He had to be stronger, or else-

"Luffy-san?"

Luffy was snapped from his train of thought and turned around to see his musician looking at him with worry (or that's what he thinks. The skeleton didn't actually have an expression).

Luffy realized that his body was in a tense state, so he quickly relaxed and gave his friend a smile. "Hey, Brook."

The skeleton tipped off his hat and smiled. "Hello to you too, Luffy-san. Is something the matter?"

"Nothing." Luffy shrugged. "Just can't sleep, that's all."

Brook mentally frowned. He knew something was up when he saw his captain walk out of the men's quarters this late at night. "Oh, that's a problem."

"No, it's fine!" Luffy grinned, not wanting to worry his musician (though Brook easily saw through his act). "Weren't you on watch duty, though?"

"Yes, I am." Brook nodded. "But, I wanted to accompany Luffy-san when I saw you here on the deck. Though I have no eyes to see, yohohoho!"

Luffy laughed as well. "I see. Then, let's sit here together!"

"That's a good idea." Brook agreed. Then, the two pirates settled down on the grass and gazed up to the starry sky.

A comfortable silence filled the air. After the short conversation, neither Luffy or Brook said anything else. They seemed to be content just by being with each other (as cheesy as it sounds). Although Luffy didn't have any thought on his mind, Brook did.

The skeleton didn't say this, but earlier he had witnessed Luffy waking up from the nightmare and checking the other beds. At first, he was confused to why his captain would do such a thing. But one quick look at Luffy's desperate and scared eyes, and Brook understood.

The musician didn't walk over to him immediately because he knew that Luffy would end up on the deck sooner or later. That was what the captain usually did when he couldn't sleep, whatever the reason.

Truth be told, Brook wasn't very good at comforting. He wasn't the type to hug or give advice, both fifty years ago and right now. There were times that the pirate tried, but his old crewmates would complain from the noise. That's when he realized that comforting is not his forte.

But Brook still wanted to comfort his young captain, even just a little bit is fine. He didn't want Luffy to suffer anymore. So, he did the only thing he could think of.

"Luffy-san, would you like a lullaby?"

Luffy turned to him with a confused face. "Lullaby?"

Brook nodded. "If you want to, I can play something for you."

Luffy raised his eyebrows a notch in surprise before he seemed to realize his friend's intention. Touched by the feeling, Luffy let out a sincere grin. "Yeah, I'd like that."

If Brook had a face of flesh, he would've smiled in relief. Then, the skeleton sat up and grabbed his violin. "How does Bink's Sake sound?"

Luffy's eyes lit up at the name and he gave his friend a thumbs up. "Perfect."

Brook nodded and began to play. The tempo Brook played was slow and soothing. The melodic sounds coming from the violin was calm and it felt like the instrument itself was singing. The familiar music from the violin eased Luffy's nerves and the boy closed his eyes, feeling his tension drain off like rainwater. The captain was finally able to smile in peace, thoughts of the recent nightmare far away from his mind.

Brook gazed at the boy fondly, glad that he was able to help his friend and continued to strum his violin. Somewhere in the middle of the song, though, Luffy moved to lie his head on the skeleton's lap. Brook was so shocked he almost stopped playing, but the peaceful expression on the boy's face made Brook continue.

Although he didn't admit it, Brook was getting a bit worried. He was a skeleton, his body consisted of hard bones and he didn't have any soft exterior like the others. Brook deliberated over telling Luffy that, and as if he read his mind, Luffy opened his eyes and flashed the skeleton a smile. All concern and worry vanished from his mind at the reassurance and Brook didn't hesitate to continue.

When the song finally finished, Luffy blinked sleepily at the skeleton and smiled. "Thanks, Brook."

The skeleton laughed. "Yohohoho. It's no problem, Luffy-san."

Luffy chuckled. "When I can't sleep again," The boy mumbled before he let out a yawn, a sign that the effect of the song was working. Then, he sent Brook another warm smile. "I'll leave it to you to play me a song, Musician."

Brook's eyes widened (though he didn't have eyes...but this isn't time for a joke) and the skeleton's jaw dropped slightly. Tears gathered in his eye pockets but the Straw-Hat  _musician_  (oh, how Brook had missed being called that) refused to let it fall.

"Hey. Don't cry, Brook." Luffy chuckled, lifting a finger to wipe a stray tear from his friend's face. But, that just made Brook cry harder.

"I-I'm sorry, Luffy-san. These tears...can't seem to stop." Brook said as he wiped the tears away, earning a laugh from Luffy. After the tears finally ceased, the skeleton gently ruffled the boy's raven hair.

"Leave it to me, Captain. I will always play for you...for eternity."

Luffy nodded with a grin, before his exhaustion caught up with him and the boy slowly drifted off to sleep. Brook smiled (though it didn't show in his face) in relief that his captain's getting some shut-eye and continued to ruffle Luffy's hair gently. "Good night, Luffy-san."

The skeleton would've done that for hours non-stop, but his senses caught an unknown foe coming towards the ship.

Brook narrowed his eyes, they were advancing pretty fast. The musician gently picked Luffy up and quickly dashed towards the crow's nest. When he made it inside, Brook walked towards the sitting area and set Luffy down onto it.

"Wait here for a bit, Luffy-san. It seems like we have some guests." Brook said. He took a quick glance at the window and saw a small ship coming towards them. Brook put down his violin beside the sleeping captain and picked up his cane instead. As Brook made his way down, he turned to Luffy and tipped his hat. "Don't worry, I'll handle it."

When Brook walked back on the deck, the enemy ship had anchored near Sunny. Brook squinted and he could see around ten figures from the absence of light. The skeleton waited until the strangers stepped onto the deck before he let out a chilling laugh. "Yohohoho!"

The strangers jumped from the sound and looked around for the source. "Who's there?!"

"I'd appreciate it if you don't shout. I don't want to wake up the others." Brook said as he approached the group. "Especially Zoro-san. He tends to get angry if anyone wakes him up." A pause. "Never mind. Nami-san's scarier."

The men stared at him with wide-eyed expressions (which Brook was used to have, he's a talking skeleton after all) before one of them finally broke the silence. "B-Bastard, who are you?"

"The question is, who are  _you_? Stepping onto our ship at this hour." Brook questioned the group.

"We're bounty hunters! We're here to take Straw-Hat Luffy's head!" The man in the front exclaimed. Brook assumed that he was the leader of this band of misfits. (hm, nice name.)

"Oh, I'm afraid you can't do that." Brook said as he held his cane in front of the misfits (he was getting used to it already). "He's my captain, after all. And, he's sleeping at the moment."

"Well, we're going to beat you here and wake him up!" The leader shouted. "That pirate deserves nothing but death for everything that he's done!"

Suddenly, Brook's face darkened and his grip on the cane tightened. "Death...you say? I believe he deserves anything  _but_  death."

"You're wrong!" The bounty hunter shouted again. "He caused so much destruction in the Grand Line, it'll be better if he's gone!"

All of a sudden, the leader felt his lower half frozen. When he looked down at it, he saw both of his feet covered in ice. The leader's jaw dropped and when he heard his friends shout, he knew that the same thing happened to them.

"You men are really impolite." Brook sighed as he lowered his Soul Solid. "You shouldn't judge a book by its cover, or in this case a person by his actions." The skeleton slowly approached the half-paralyzed bounty hunters and said, "Luffy-san did all of those things for a reason."

The leader got over his shock and gritted his teeth. "I don't care! The world would be better off without him!" Then, an idea popped into his mind and the bounty hunter smirked. "I hope that brat will feel what his victims had felt when he dies."

"Oh?" Brook said curiously. "What's that?"

"Alone and miserable."

Brook was silent and his expression was blank. But, his tone held a deadly tone. "...You've crossed the line at that one."

"Huh?" The leader raised an eyebrow.

"You know, it's the job of a musician to make the adventure more fun." Brook murmured as he readied his sword, Soul Solid. "And for the first time in two years, my captain has given me that title again."

"What are you talking about, skeleton?" The leader scowled.

"Luffy-san won't feel any misery as long as I'm here." Brook said, walking through the group. "My captain's going to be the Pirate King one day and right now he needs his sleep." A tick mark appeared on Brook's skull. "But, you came here and bothered him with your loud, cocky talk."

"Oi, skeleton! We don't have time for this!" The leader shouted, cracking the ice with his fist.

"Exactly, that's why…" Brook held his sword before him and slowly sheathed the sword back.  _"Hanauta Sancho, Yahazu Giri."_

Before the bounty hunters knew it, as soon as the sword was sheathed back, they felt their bodies being slashed.

All of them were too overwhelmed by the pain to even whimper as the misfits fell on the deck one by one. The leader stumbled a bit and before he let the pain take over, he heard six words that sounded like it was from hell.

_"Don't get in my Captain's way!"_

* * *

The New World was unpredictable and the pirates didn't really knew what to expect. But seeing wreckage of a ship and people floating near it was pretty normal for the sea, so the pirates weren't that surprised.

What surprised them, though, was the ice on the ship that formed the sentence,  _"Yohohoho."_

They could hear the chilling laugh already.

**Elsewhere in the New World,**

"Brook, guess what dream I had last night!"

"What is it, Luffy-san?"

"I dreamed that we were celebrating after we had fulfilled our dreams! Everyone was dancing and singing and you were playing your violin with Laboon!"

"Really? That sounds like fun!"

"It is, isn't it? And then-Wait, why is this floor slippery?"

"Oh, that's because of ice."

"Ice?"

"Yes, I was practicing my Soul Solid over there yesterday!"

"Oh, really? No wonder. Franky! This floor's slippery!"

"WHAT?! Usopp, go get the mop and clean it!"

"Why me!?"


	7. Usopp

"Viola!" Usopp shouted as he carried the ammo, Bagworm, and approached his Kabuto. The addressed girl averted her gaze from the castle to the sniper. "Use your Clairvoyance and guide me! I need to know every move Sugar makes."

Viola nodded. "Yes, Usopp-kun." Then, she turned back to the direction of the castle and closed her eyes in concentration, using her ability to observe Sugar with a bird's eye view.

Kin'emon and Kanjuro walked over to the duo with skeptical expressions on their faces. "The castle's pretty far away. Are you sure you can do it with only her Clairvoyance?" Kin'emon asked with uncertainty.

"I don't have a choice," Usopp replied. He put the ammo down and tested the sling of his Kabuto by stretching it a few centimeters. "Sugar's already making her move."

Then, the sniper looked up with a determined glint in his eyes. "Just so you know, I'm a sniper!" Usopp grabbed his goggles from his forehead and put it over his eyes with a grin on his face. "Shoot an enemy without being seen to protect my friend. That's my strong suit."

Kin'emon and Kanjuro didn't say anything back but the raven-haired samurai gulped nervously. Viola inwardly smiled at Usopp's words and murmured, "Yes." But, the ex-princess still kept her eyes closed and continued to focus back to Sugar.

Viola silently observed Sugar, who was slowly walking towards the open yard with a vicious look on her face. The little girl was carrying a small basket of blueberries and her smile didn't look good at all. Viola momentarily opened her eyes and turned to the sniper beside her. "Sugar's advancing on those two!"

"Alright!" Usopp cried out. The sniper picked up his ammo and started to adjust it onto his slingshot.

Meanwhile, Viola centered back on the castle and witnessed Sugar enter the yard and cry fake tears, earning both Luffy and Law's attention. "Sugar came out into the yard!"

"Okay, it's time!" Usopp exclaimed as he stretched the sling and slightly crouched down. The sniper's hands held the slingshot in position and he glanced up at the castle in front of him.

The distance between the King's Plateau and the castle on Flower Hill was great, at least two kilometers away. And the windows on the castle were small and hard to see from where Usopp was standing.

Usopp gritted his teeth, even with his amazing marksmanship (if he did say so himsel-wait a minute, this isn't the time!), it would still be tough for him to pinpoint Luffy and Law's exact location.

 _Luffy!_  The sniper thought as sweat started to form on his head from the worry and growing stress. Despite the serious situation he was in, Usopp couldn't help but reflect his own conversation with Luffy a few days ago.

* * *

It was another short fight with the local marines. The Straw-Hats had docked onto an island to stretch their legs (for Luffy, literally.) and stock up on some essentials. Everyone had split up and went alone except for Luffy, who was accompanied by Usopp (the sniper was given a long speech by Nami to make sure their idiot captain doesn't cause any trouble.)

Of course, with Luffy being the trouble magnet he was, he still managed to catch the attention of a few marines when they were strolling around. At first, only a small number were chasing them and Luffy took care of it quickly so Usopp didn't need to step in (and he was definitely  _not_  running away faster than Luffy.)

But then, the marines seemed to come out from everywhere and before both of them knew it, a whole mob was chasing them down the street and into the island forest. Usopp thought that they could use the forest to their advantage and make a beeline back to the Sunny. But, the marines here were faster than they thought.

Luffy began to fight and managed to wipe more than half of them in two minutes. Usopp wasn't far behind, he got over his I-can't-fight-these-marines disease and used his many ammo to take the marines down one way or another. The marines were stubborn, though, so they got up almost every time.

A few minutes later, not many marines were left. The duo got rid of the weak ones and all that's left were the difficult ones. They weren't actually  _difficult_  per say (compared to a few enemies, these guys were like small flies that bug you all day long – in a sense, they actually are), but they seemed to be quite experienced with their forest surroundings and were now blending in with the trees.

Luffy and Usopp weren't that concerned about it (although the sniper seemed a bit tense) since Luffy could use Observation Haki and Usopp was used to the forest from his two-year training. With both of their advantages, Luffy and Usopp easily avoided the incoming bullets and the sniper shot down some as well. But, most of the shots were aimed towards Luffy, either because he had the higher bounty of the two or maybe he was the captain.

Usopp realized it when the bullets aimed at him started reducing and when Luffy had to dodge more. Usopp was agitated at the fact that they didn't see him as a threat ("I'm the great Usopp-sama! You can't ignore me like that!") and decided to help his captain. But these marines didn't want to stop, so they continued firing at the two. After a while, Usopp had enough.

"Hey, Luffy! We should hurry up!" Usopp shouted as he deflected another incoming bullet. "This is taking forever!"

"Yeah, I'm getting hungry!" Luffy agreed, though his reason wasn't the same as Usopp's.

"That's not-Ah, whatever! Let's go! The others are probably waiting." Usopp said.

Luffy grinned at the idea and nodded. "I can't wait to eat meat!" The boy exclaimed as a trail of drool came out of his mouth.

Usopp sighed at his behavior and pulled out a pellet from his pocket. "It's been a while since I used this." The sniper muttered nostalgically as he quickly put the pellet onto his Kabuto and aimed it towards the area where most of the bullets came from.  _"Hissatsu! Cho Kemuri Boshi!"_

Usopp released the slingshot and the pellet flew towards the designated area, spewing smoke all over the forest once it made an impact. Coughs were heard almost everywhere and Usopp bet on his Kabuto that those belong to the pigheaded marines.

"Let's go, Luffy!" He shouted at the boy, running ahead to where the ship was docked.

"Yeah!" Luffy grinned, following behind his friend. "I wonder what Sanji's making today. I hope it's meat!"

Usopp turned his head around to tell Luffy to run faster, but his words died in his throat when he spotted a bullet coming from the left, aiming towards Luffy. The latter was oblivious to the upcoming danger as he continued to imagine Sanji's cooking.

Usopp's eyes filled with terror and without even thinking, he grabbed a pop green and shot it towards the bullet with the speed of light. It did the trick, as the bullet went off course and flew off towards the other direction.

Due to his action, the sniper halted in his tracks. Luffy noticed and stopped at the last second, almost bumping into his friend in the process. The rubber boy couldn't help but note that his friend's whole demeanor had suddenly changed. "What's wrong, Usopp?"

"On second thought, Luffy..." Usopp murmured when he heard the sound of a bush rustling on his right. "I want to beat these guys up first."

Luffy blinked at the statement. He wanted to ask why, but the deadly look in the sniper's eyes told him everything he needed to know. "Alright, but hurry up. I'm hungry." Luffy said, stepping aside.

A faint smile appeared on Usopp's face and he nodded. The sniper took a few pop greens from his pocket and aimed it to every place where he heard something rustling. Usually, he wouldn't do this trick unless he wanted to get away quick. This time, the reason's still the same, but with a slight twist to it.

He wanted to give these guys what they deserved. No one aims at Luffy like that.

_"Midori Boshi, Devil!"_

The pop greens flew almost everywhere. When it made contact with the ground, large Venus Flytraps instantly sprouted from it. Screams of pain were heard from every direction and Usopp couldn't help but smirk. The forest would get a little dirty, but nothing old Mother Nature couldn't fix.

Now feeling satisfied, the sniper turned back to Luffy and said, "Let's go!"

Said boy nodded with a smile. Then the two of them ran away from the forest, leaving a few man-eating plants to eat their meals.

When they finally made it out to the outskirts of the town, Luffy and Usopp slowed their running and transitioned to a normal walk (albeit with a few heavy breaths from the running). After a few minutes of silence between the two, Usopp finally popped the bubble.

"Don't let your guard down, Luffy." The sniper frowned. "You had me worried for a bit there."

Luffy knew what Usopp was referring to, so he glanced at his crewmate with a grin. "Don't worry, Usopp. Bullets don't work on me, remember?"

"Yeah, I know," Usopp admitted. But for that split second, he was too horrified that he completely forgot about that fact. "But...what if it was a Sea Stone bullet? You can't avoid those!"

"Actually, I can," Luffy stated matter-of-factly.

Usopp blinked at the statement before he mentally face-palmed. Great, he forgot about that too. "That's not what I meant! Sea Stone bullets can hurt you! And, we don't know the difference between normal bullets and Sea Stone bullets. They look exactly the same!"

The sniper faced Luffy with a worried look. "What if you assumed it was a normal bullet so you didn't dodge it but it turns out to be a Sea Stone bullet so it worked on you and you get hurt and what if-"

"Usopp! Calm down!" Luffy shouted as he stopped walking and grabbed Usopp's shoulders. The sniper broke out of his rambling state and lowered his head in embarrassment. "...sorry, got a bit caught up."

"It's fine," Luffy assured, drawing back his arms. Usopp still had a shameful look on his face, and the raven-haired captain didn't like it.

So Luffy put on his signature grin and placed his hands on his hips. "But you can easily cover me by deflecting it, right Usopp?"

Usopp blinked, not expecting Luffy to say that. He slowly looked up and stared at the young boy. "Y-Yeah, but..."

"Then, there's no need to worry!" Luffy laughed, patting Usopp's shoulder. "If something attacks me or the others, I'm counting on you to cover us, Sniper!"

Usopp's eyes widened and he inhaled sharply. The sniper gazed at Luffy in wonderment and he bit his trembling lip.

Those words. Those were the only things Usopp had desired and feared would never hear these past two years. Ever since he got the worst wake-up call in the form of a newspaper, Usopp had worked hard to earn those words – to deserve those words. He had waited (two  _long_  years) for the day when he could see Luffy smile and trust him again.

And, it finally came. Luffy had  _grinned_  again. He had  _trusted_  him again.

A few stray tears escaped Usopp's eyes but the sniper paid no mind. A smile slowly emerged on Usopp's face and he gave Luffy a shaky (but determined) nod. "A-Alright, leave it to me, Captain I won't let you down!"

Luffy's grin turned wider. Then, he saw Usopp's condition and laughed again. "Are you crying, Usopp?"

That made Usopp finally notice the dampness of his cheeks, and the sniper turned red. "N-No, of course not!" He wiped the tears away and said, "My eyes are just getting wet from the invisible rain."

"Invisible rain?" Luffy perked up at the unfamiliar word.

"Oh, h-haven't you heard?" Usopp shakily said. "It's a legend."

Luffy's eyes lit up and he shook his head. "Nope! Tell me, Usopp!"

Usopp smiled fondly at his captain's child-like behavior. "Okay, the great Captain Usopp will once again share his adventures with you!"

* * *

Usopp's resolve grew stronger as he recalled that memory. That day, he made a silent oath to never fail Luffy again. He was  _not_  going to break it now.

Behind him, he could hear the mob of people getting closer. Kin'emon and Kanjuro had volunteered to slow them down, along with King Riku and his ex-soldier plus a Fishman. But Usopp could tell that they were having a bit of difficulty. Viola broke out of her Clairvoyance and glanced at them in worry.

"Don't get distracted, Viola!" Usopp called out to her, still focusing on his target. "I'm sure they'll be fine!"

"I-I'm sorry!" Viola realized her mistake and turned back to the castle, closing her eyes.

"It's fine," Usopp muttered, still holding on to the ammo. "But, tell me the exact position of the yard!"

Viola nodded. "See the windows on the upper part of the Rampart Tower?"

Usopp squinted his eyes a bit. Using his sharp eyesight, he saw the seventeen windows Viola had mentioned. "Yeah."

"I see Straw Hat and Law in the first window right of the center," Viola informed. She was silent for a moment before she added, "There are iron bars on the window."

Usopp's eyes searched the windows. With Viola's accurate explanation, he quickly found the right one. Then, Usopp remembered the last part she said. "How many bars are there?"

Viola examined the window for a second and answered, "One vertical bar and three horizontal bars." The ex-princess eyed its surroundings and said, "The length from the ground of the yard to the bottom of the window is about one and two tenth meters...That's about Sugar's height."

Usopp nodded, taking in this information and calculating it in his head. "How big is the bottom pane of the window?"

"Fifty wide by forty high," Viola replied.

Usopp furrowed his eyebrows. "It's about the size of the ammo."

A silent moment passed between the two. Both of them tuned out the people behind them and focused on doing what they need to do. Usopp narrowed his eyes and more sweat formed on his forehead.

 _The target is behind the wall._  Usopp thought as he continued to hold on to the ammo.  _If I miss...we'll lose Luffy!_

"Usopp-kun," Viola muttered, breaking the sniper's train of thought. "You must not fail."

Usopp had a glint of surprise in his eyes and it almost made the sniper loosen his grip on the ammo. But he quickly recovered and the sniper answered, "Of course. I won't let Sugar have her way."

Usopp grabbed the ammo tighter and he gritted his teeth. "If she turns Luffy into a toy, we'll forget everything! Our memories-"

_"We're already friends, right?" Luffy asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world._

"-our adventures-"

_"Let's go to the Grand Line!" Luffy declared, jumping high into the air._

_"Yeah!"_

"-our promises-"

_"I'm….I'm going to be stronger, Luffy!" Usopp bellowed, sad tears streaming on his fat face._

"-and our captain!"

_"I'm counting on you, Sniper."_

"Everything will go to oblivion!" Usopp half-shouted, memories of their great adventure replaying in his mind. Viola had a sad frown on her face, but she didn't falter and continued to observe the slowly approaching Sugar.

"I promised Luffy," Usopp said absent-mindedly. "I promised that I'd cover for him when he doesn't see an attack...Even though I'm a liar, I'm not a promise breaker! I won't break that promise, no matter what!"

Viola nodded, a trace of a smile on her face at the sniper's persistence. "Yes."

Usopp gazed at the castle with utmost concentration. Sweat continued to form on his face and his hands were slightly shaking from the pressure.

For a moment, the sniper pictured what would happen if he failed. Luffy would turn into a toy and Usopp's memories of him would disappear along with the others. The thought of it alone made Usopp shudder.

The sniper gritted his teeth so hard it almost bled. "What good would it be?" Usopp said out of the blue.

Viola was taken aback at Usopp's sudden statement and she turned to the sniper in concern. "Usopp-kun?"

"...what good would it be to be a brave sea warrior if I can't even protect my friends!?" Usopp cried out, his heart beating fast inside his chest. "What good would it be…if I'm alone?"

Viola stared at the man, feeling lost for words. "Usopp-kun..."

"I don't want that. That's why…" Usopp trailed off as his eyes finally locked onto the window. "I'll hit her no matter what!"

Viola's eyes softened and the woman nodded, turning back to the castle and watching Sugar's interaction with the oblivious Luffy and Law.

The growing pressure was so heavy; Usopp thought he was going to crumble. But, he didn't. He stood his ground, not flinching when he heard the people behind him coming closer. The sniper focused on locking onto the bottom pane of the window, but it looked like a small speck from the plateau.

"Sugar's approaching them," Viola reported.

Usopp nodded. The mob was getting closer, meaning the sniper didn't have that much time. He needed to do it now, or else he'd lose his captain. And, Usopp was determined to  _not_  have the latter.

 _Listen, Sugar._  Usopp thought as he gazed at the castle before him.  _Luffy's going to be the Pirate King someday. But if you touch him and turn him into a toy, that would never happen. His adventure...would end here._

Usopp closed his eyes and shook his head at the possibility.  _Let me tell you, Sugar, that as the sniper of the Straw-Hat Pirates and Luffy's friend,_  Usopp's eyes opened with unflinching determination.  _I won't let his dream be ruined!_

Just as Usopp was about to release the ammo, his vision suddenly changed. Usopp's eyes widened when instead of the normal colors; he saw the castle in a negative vision.

 _W-What is this?_ Usopp's jaw dropped when his eyesight moved closer to the castle as if the sniper himself was flying through the air. Then when he saw the row of windows, one, in particular, shined and stood out amongst the others. Usopp's vision advanced forward through the window and stopped when it spotted three balls of aura in the darkness.

 _I can see their auras…_  Usopp slowly comprehended as the auras morphed into the silhouettes of Luffy, Law and Sugar. Usopp's eyes widened when he saw one, in particular,  _There's Luffy!_

As if a light switch was turned on, his vision suddenly turned colorful again and Usopp could make out Luffy crouching down almost to Sugar's height while Law observed her in confusion and doubt. In the middle of those two, Sugar held out her arms and seemed to offer them her blueberries that she loved.

Now that Usopp could clearly see his target, he prepared to attack. "Here I go!"

The sniper stepped on his Kabuto and slowly loosened his grip on the Bagworm.  _"Super Grown-Up, Great Black Kabuto!"_

Ignoring the growing footsteps of the mob behind him, the sniper shouted his attack.  _"Special Long-Range Attack, Bagworm!"_

Then finally, Usopp released the ammo. Even as the mob finally approached him, Usopp could only think about the ammo's trajectory. The sniper counted to three backward as the ammo flew higher to the castle. When he reached one, the rear of the ammo exploded due to the first booster, Exploding Star. The ammo had a slight ascent and two seconds later; it ignited the second booster. The outer cover came off and due to the explosion; the ammo changed its course horizontally.

Usopp and Viola watched as the ammo went through the lower left side of the window on the Rampart Tower. Then, it passed through the wall and out of the duo's sight. Inside the castle, the ammo went straight to where Sugar was.

Sugar, who was slowly offering her blueberries to her two targets, spotted the ammo advancing towards her and she halted in confusion. The ammo trailed off a bit, but it was meant to do so.

Because Usopp thought as the citizens of Dressrosa tried to tie him up.  _That special ammunition is meant to retraumatize the enemy!_

His prediction was right, as the ammo turned out to be Kanjuro's drawing of him bulging his eyes and tongue out. Sugar's eyes were filled with terror as it made her remember the horrifying image of Usopp doing the same when he ate the poison grape.

As the drawing halted in front of her, Sugar bulged her eyes out and screamed at the top of her lungs. Then, the girl's eyes rolled into the back of her head and Sugar slowly fell onto the floor, unconscious, to the confusion of Luffy and Law.

When he heard Viola declare that Sugar had been brought down, Usopp couldn't help but grin.

 _Let this be a lesson to you, Sugar._  Usopp thought, glancing to the castle miles away from him.  _Don't get in my Captain's way!_

* * *

When Doflamingo's men carried Sugar out of the yard, they exchanged questions and guesses to what made her pass out. None of them believed that an executive from the Donquixote family could be defeated that easily. But when they passed an eerie drawing on the wall, no one questioned it anymore.

Since that drawing was enough to make them pass out, and because of the message written beside it.

_"Right back at you, Sugar."_

**Elsewhere after Doflamingo's defeat,**

"Hey, Usopp! I saw a drawing of you at the castle earlier!

"Really?"

"Yeah! It looked so real, I thought it was you!"

"I-I think it wasn't  _that_  accurate, Luffy…"

"But, it was! It had your long nose, your eyes, your tongue-"

"O-Okay, I get it! It looks just like me! No need to describe it in detail!"

"But it sounds interesting, Usopp. I want to know how horrible that drawing was."

"THAT DOESN'T MAKE ME FEEL ANY BETTER, SANJI!"


	8. Zoro

Zoro gazed outside the crow's nest with a blank expression on his face. The swordsman could see most of his crewmates from where he was sitting. Nami was plucking some ripe tangerines at the back of the deck alongside Robin, who was watering her flowers. Sanji was behind them, ready to help anytime (that shitty cook, he wanted some sake). Usopp was sitting on the grass lawn with Chopper, Franky and Brook. Apparently, the sniper was telling them one of his famous stories (that are probably not true).

Zoro could see every crewmember except for one. This would've worried the swordsman if he didn't see the rubber idiot anywhere, but right now he has no reason to. Why, you ask?

"Mm! Dewicius!"

Since that person's sitting right behind him, anyway.

Zoro glanced at the back and saw Luffy munching on a huge piece of meat. It was rare for the captain to join his first mate up in the crow's nest at this time of day, but no one questioned it. In fact, it was actually Zoro who invited Luffy to join him, which made no one question him even more.

The reason to that was what had happened a few minutes ago.

A pirate ship had come near Sunny and the crew attacked the Straw-Hats on board. At first, they thought this was a no-name pirate crew that would be a good workout for the day. But apparently, they were wrong.

These pirates were stronger than the average ones they meet. They weren't as par as Law's or Kidd's crew, but Zoro had to admit, they were pretty good. So, the battle took longer than they had thought. All of them had experienced at least a small level of difficulty.

Of course the Straw-Hats were confident that they would win, but at some point in the battle something had terrified them to the core.

That moment was when they saw their captain about to be slashed from behind.

The enemy swordsman was skillful and had managed to sneak behind the unsuspecting captain. Luffy was too busy fighting to notice him. He finally did at the last second, when he heard his nakama shouting his name. Luffy turned around and saw the sword swinging down at him. The captain tried to dodge but the sword was too close. He wouldn't make it in time.

Zoro didn't remember it that clearly. At the time, he was fighting three pirates with his swords a few feet away. Then, the others shouted Luffy's name and the swordsman turned around.

Then, he saw it.

The next thing Zoro knew, he was  _running_. He didn't care about those who stood in his way (or how he slashed at them with no mercy), all he saw were Luffy and the approaching blade.

Zoro ran and he didn't stop until he felt the weight of the sword halting against his own. He saw the surprise (and fear) slowly appear on the enemy's face and he grinned.

"You can't just go to my captain like that, you bastard."

After that, everything went back to normal (well, as normal as a Straw-Hat battle could be). Zoro deflected the sword and quickly slashed at the swordsman (albeit with more force than usual) and stayed behind Luffy's back. The others let out sighs of relief before they too focused back to the battle. No one mentioned it when the Straw-Hats had seemed a bit more deadly and attacked a notch harder than earlier.

This crew's swordsman had the nerve to attack Luffy. They weren't going to leave them unscathed.

At last, they managed to throw them all overboard. Sanji kicked the pirate ship hard until it went flying hundreds of miles. Everyone had taken turns to check up on Luffy and made sure he wasn't hurt. The rubber boy just laughed and told them he's alright.

Of course, they didn't believe him until Chopper confirmed that yes, other than a few cuts and bruises, Luffy's fine.

Then, all of them went back to their own routines. But, that one moment still lingered in their minds and, though it's invisible from the naked eye, everyone was still a bit shaken by it. Zoro had to admit, his own heart was still racing slightly (though he'd  _never_  say that out loud, the shitty cook would never let him hear the end of it.)

Maybe that's why the Straw-Hats gave Luffy a bit more affection than usual. Sanji cooked up a bigger portion of meat, Nami allowed him to take more than one tangerine, Usopp told him stories that are more true than false, Chopper tended his wounds more gently, Franky showed him more inventions, Robin read him more books and Brook played his favorite songs more often.

That's why Zoro invited Luffy to join him in the crow's nest, it's his way of affection and also just to make sure to himself that Luffy's here and he's okay.

From where he was sitting, Zoro could still see that the crew was giving the crow's nest worried glances once in a while. It was so subtle that one might miss it, but Zoro saw it as clear as daylight.

None of them wanted something like this to happen again, but the future's unpredictable, unavoidable. Something like this was bound to happen again. But next time, Zoro wanted to be more prepared. Everyone wanted to be more prepared.

But first things first, he needed to have a talk with his captain.

"Luffy." Zoro said, turning around to face the boy.

Luffy looked up and stopped licking his fingers. "Yeah?"

Zoro stood up and made his way to sit beside the captain. The swordsman didn't say anything and merely crossed his arms. Luffy didn't say anything either, waiting for his first mate to speak.

Then, Zoro finally broke the silence. His eyes were hard with determination yet his voice held the slightest hint of concern. "Be careful next time, we don't want you to get hurt."

Luffy blinked before he gave Zoro a grin. "Shishishi, sorry."

Zoro's tense figure relaxed slightly at the sound. The first mate's arms went to his swords and he slowly unsheathed Wado Ichimonji. "Leave those people to me." Zoro stated, looking at his sword with determination. "I'm the swordsman, not you."

To some people, that might've sounded like an insult and they would've gotten offended. But, it was none of those to Luffy, and the captain just smiled. "You're right, I'm not good with swords!"

"...you don't have to be." Zoro said eventually, taking a cloth from his pocket and using it to slowly polish Wado Ichimonji.

Although he didn't say it, Luffy heard the unspoken message.

_You have me._

The captain's eyes lighted up and he let out a small chuckle. "I know."

_I'm counting on you, Swordsman._

Zoro's face was blank, but his lips twitched upwards in the slightest. His captain understood, that was all he could ask for. "Good."

* * *

"Alright, guys!" Nami shouted to the crew. "We can't stay long, so be back before sunset!"

"Whoa! I wonder if there's meat in here!" Luffy exclaimed as he jumped over the railing and ran off.

A tick mark appeared on Nami's face and her eye twitched. "Hey, Luffy! Didn't you hear what I said?!"

"Yeah! The rubber boy replied. "Be back before sunset!"

"And, don't you forget it!" Nami shouted. Her tick mark disappeared and the navigator sighed. "Sanji-kun, stay with Luffy and make sure he doesn't cause any trouble."

"Yes, Nami-swan~!" Sanji said as his eyes turned into hearts. In front of him, Zoro sighed annoyingly. "Shut up, Dartbrow."

"Huh?" Suddenly, the blonde cook was before him with his eyes blazing. "Did you say something, shitty swordsman!?"

A tick mark appeared on Zoro's forehead. "I said-"

"YOU TWO JUST SHUT UP AND GO!" Nami shouted, hitting them both on the head.

Zoro gritted his teeth and rubbed the bump on his head. "Yeah yeah, we're going."

"And, don't get lost Zoro! Don't trust yourself!"

"I never get l-Hey!"

* * *

Zoro walked down the street and observed his surroundings. The island they had docked to was a small one, so there was only one town. The amount of people weren't that much, probably less than one hundred or so.

"Tch, what kind of town is this?" Zoro scowled. "The buildings are exactly the same."

The buildings were actually very different. The townsfolk apparently loved colour, so the buildings were all painted in different colours. The style of the buildings weren't the same either. But of course, Zoro didn't see that. (achoo! what the-)

After walking to another dead end (what's wrong with this island!?), Zoro finally spotted a decent-looking bar. The swordsman's eyebrows rose and a smile appeared on his face. "Ooh, nice. I'd like some booze right now." Then, Zoro walked inside.

The bar was like any other bar Zoro had been to, noisy and with quite a lot of people chatting inside. Zoro quickly inspected the place and nothing catched his eye. Assuming that it's safe, Zoro searched for an empty seat and quickly sat on it. "Old man, some sake!" Zoro said to the bartender, who nodded and went to get a bottle.

"Here you go, sir." The bartender put down the bottle in front of Zoro. The latter smirked at the sight and thanked the man before grabbing the bottle and gulping it down.

A few tables away, a small group of people noticed the swordsman's arrival and their eyes lighted up. They started whispering to each other with an almost mischievous expression, before one of them stood up from their seat and walked over to where Zoro was drinking.

"Hey, you're Pirate Hunter Zoro right?" The stranger asked, taking a seat beside the swordsman. Zoro gave him a suspicious side-way glance before he put the bottle down and wiped his mouth. "Yeah."

The stranger snickered, as if he had expected that answer. "Nice to meet you. I'm one of the bounty hunters of this island. My colleagues are over there." The man gestured to his friends waving behind him. Zoro didn't bother to wave back. "Don't worry, we're not going to hunt you-"

Zoro stifled a snort.  _As if you could capture me._

"-But, we're going to ask for your help."

"My help?" The pirate's tone was questioning and curious as he quirked an eyebrow. "With what?"

"With capturing your captain, of course!" The bounty hunter laughed, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. Simultaneously, a mysterious glint flashed on Zoro's one eye and his fingers twitched in the slightest. But apparently, the stranger didn't notice and continued. "You joined the crew for that purpose, am I correct? You were a pirate hunter, after all."

Zoro's face held close to no emotion as he questioned, "...capture?"

The bounty hunter nodded, not noticing the pirate's changing demeanor. "That's right! We'll split the money, so that we both have a decent share. He's worth around four-hundred million, correct?" He pulled out Luffy's poster from his pocket and pointed at the reward amount. "We'll give you half of it, how does that-"

But, he never got to finish that sentence because suddenly a sword slashed the poster he was holding to and managed to also leave a cut on his cheek. The bounty hunter leaned back before he realized it, but because of the unsteady balance he fell from his chair and landed on his butt. The bounty hunter's eyes widened at the sudden pain and was about to scream or at least gasp, but then he felt the all too familiar feeling of a sword resting on his shoulder.

The sake bottle twirled on the table, but after a while it started to slow until it finally stopped.

"You know, just thinking about capturing my captain gives me enough reason to hurt you." The bounty hunter slowly averted his terrified gaze from the blade and turned around to see the same person he was just talking to give him a deathly glare. "But thinking about me helping you do that, you just digged your own grave."

Zoro stared at the hunter, daring the man to answer. The man's mouth opened and closed like a fish and his body started to shake like a leaf. Zoro suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. The swordsman was starting to assume that the bounty hunter and his friends actually believed that Zoro would help them and didn't think about the possibility of this happening.

Pathetic.

With that in mind, Zoro's hand  _accidentally_  moved the tip of the sword closer to the man's neck, making him tremble even more.

"W-Wait!" The hunter finally managed to stutter out. Zoro almost thought that he had passed out. "We're fellow pirate hunters, w-we should help each other!"

Zoro's grip on the sword hardened and his eyes sent daggers to the bounty hunter, making the latter squeak. Okay, maybe that was the wrong thing to say. "Just who do you think I am?" A demon aura slowly started to form around Zoro. "I'm a Straw-Hat. Don't expect us to betray our captain just like that."

It's absolutely ridiculous for them to even think that betraying Luffy was possible. To Zoro, that was like Nami announcing him to be debt-free or Sanji not flirting with a woman or Luffy declaring that he doesn't like meat anymore. It was absurd and unthinkable.

But apparently, this man before him didn't get that in his stubborn head. "But, you're stronger than him! You can easily beat him and-"

"That's not how it works, you bastard." Zoro narrowed his eyes. He really wasn't in the mood for this. "Have you heard of loyalty at all?"

The bounty hunter had a look of pure confusion etched on his face at that. "You're kidding, right? You're Pirate Hunter Zoro! You don't take orders from anyone."

Zoro's eyebrows rose in the slightest as comprehension dawned on his face. The swordsman's scowl slowly turned to a nostalgic smirk. "Exactly," Zoro's demonic aura got more intense as he added, "and you're no exception."

The tip of the sword shined on the man's neck, as if it was mocking him. Beads of sweat started to form on the man's forehead but he still had enough courage to say, "A-And, Straw-Hat Luffy is?"

Zoro didn't feel the need to answer him, and simply moved the sword closer to the point that the tip made contact with the man's neck. "Any last words?"

The bounty hunter let out a gasp. His body started shaking and he dreaded what Zoro was about to do. But despite the apprehension, the man had one final question. "Why?"

Zoro merely raised an eyebrow. Hearing no reply from the swordsman, the man continued. "W-Why do you take orders from...that brat?" Although he knew that there was a chance this was probably his last words, but he wanted to know. He needed to know.

Zoro mentally sighed. Some people just never learn. "...why, you say? Isn't it obvious?"

Before the man could answer to that, sharp pain erupted on his chest. The man opened his mouth, but no sound came from it. Not even a whimper. Time seemed to slow down, as the man slowly fell backwards onto the floor. The last thing he saw before he succumbed to the darkness was a demonic figure towering over him with a small smile on his face. Then, the demon's lips moved and gave him his answer.

"Because, I'm his swordsman."

As the man finally hit the floor, not moving, Zoro turned around. The bar occupants looked at him and the fallen man for a second before all of them started screaming and desperately ran out the bar. Sake splattered everywhere, including on Zoro's outfit (which was covered with the blood of the bounty hunter as well) and Zoro felt the slightest bit guilty for the bar owner. But then, his eyes went to the empty table where the rest of the bounty hunters were.

Zoro groaned. His mess just got messier.

* * *

The man ran and ran, as far away as possible. He didn't care how many people he had shoved out of the way nor how many things had spilled when he ran passed them. That swordsman was just too scary, too crazy, and he really didn't want to be the next victim.

After running past another junction, he found a deserted alley and quickly made a beeline for it. When he entered, he stopped and panted for breath. He leaned on the wall and glanced outside. When he didn't see the swordsman anywhere, the man let out a sigh of relief. He's at least a few blocks away from the bar, so he was sure that the pirate won't find him here-

"There you are."

The man's breath hitched and he glanced to see a shadow looming over him. The man's eyes slowly widened. No, it's impossible.

"You ran pretty fast. I can't even see the bar from up here."

His body started shaking and with the small courage he had, the man slowly turned his head upwards.

Zoro stood on the roof above him with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "There were about..five of you, right? I already met up with four, so you're the last one."

Cold sweat dripped from the man's head. It hadn't been ten minutes yet this pirate already finished them all and he's the last one? T-That's impossible.

Zoro noticed his foe's inner turmoil and sighed. "Sorry, but you guys did this to yourselves."

"W-We did?" The man broke out of his petrified state and turned his body around. "We didn't do anything!"

Zoro sent him a skeptical look. "You wanted to harm my captain."

"We didn't intend to!" The hunter reasoned. "We just wanted to capture him and earn some money!"

"Oh, so you wanted to take him away from us?" Zoro questioned as he jumped down the roof and landed across the bounty hunter. "That's even worse. Do you think that the eight Straw-Hats would simply let you do that?" The man was silent, comprehending what the pirate had stated.

Zoro suppressed the urge to sigh again. How stupid can these people get? First, they thought that they can persuade him to help them capture Luffy (which was impossible). Then, they thought that they can get pass the eight Straw-Hats with ease (which was also impossible).

Zoro had met a lot of stupid people in his life, but these guys were by far the worst – and that's saying something. "If you want to find out, by all means try. I doubt you'd pass through one though."

For a few minutes, the man just stood there. His bangs covered his eyes and the bounty hunter gritted his teeth. "Why?" The man murmured.

"Huh?" Zoro said loudly. "What did you say?"

"Why are you protecting him?" The hunter shakily asked, his voice slightly louder than before. The man stared at Zoro with a terrified yet angry look on his face and pointed his finger at him. "You were a pirate hunter once! I looked up to you, you know! What did Straw-Hat Luffy do to change your mind?"

And, he was telling the truth. The man was originally from East Blue as well, but he sailed into the sea to become an experienced bounty hunter. He recalled in the past whenever he heard of Zoro's name and which pirate he had turned in, and he would light up and get excited. This pirate hunter was better than anyone he knew and he was sure that one day Zoro would be the best pirate hunter in the world.

So imagine his surprise when suddenly he heard that Zoro had stopped being a pirate hunter and joined a pirate crew instead. He became a  _pirate_ , of all things! What did this Straw-Hat Luffy brat do that made Zoro abandon his reputation of a pirate hunter?

"Nothing." The man was met by a blank look by the swordsman when he added, "He just showed me the way."

The bounty hunter's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Zoro scowled and his left hand went to hold his swords. "I didn't change my mind either, I'm still aiming to be the world's greatest swordsman."

Zoro's thumb pushed the hilt of Wado forward, slightly disclosing the sword. His lips turned to a smirk as he said, "I'm just going to do it with him."

The bounty hunter stared at Zoro in astonishment, before he gritted his teeth and balled his fists. "Why are you following that kid?" The man asked, looking at the ground instead of Zoro.

Zoro let out a groan in frustration and he scratched his head. "You and your friends ask too many questions. It's annoying."

"I'm sorry." The bounty hunter apologized, his voice barely above a whisper. "We just want to know."

Zoro scowled again, but he didn't object (might as well give the animals what they were barking at). Then, the green-haired pirate had a thoughtful look on his face as he thought over what the man had just asked. "Because he's an idiot, that's why."

The bounty hunter couldn't help but raise his eyebrows a notch as he gave Zoro a puzzled look.

"A trouble magnet who attracts the worst enemies." Zoro sighed in irritation and he scratched his head. "It's troublesome, to say the least."

Simultaneously, Zoro's mind wandered back to the incident this morning, when Luffy was about to be slashed from behind. All of Zoro's irritation dissolved instantly and his expression turned more grim.

"Although that idiot always came out of it alive,"

The vivid memory of when he first saw Luffy's x-shaped scar on the boy's bare chest when they had reunited appeared in Zoro's mind. The memory that for a split second, Zoro's eyes widened and the feelings of  _regret, remorse, shame and **guilt**_  came crashing down before he quickly came back to reality.

The swordsman's grip on his sword hardened and his tone became slightly somber.

"...he couldn't avoid every attack."

The man stared in disbelief when he saw a small flicker of humiliation in the ex-pirate hunter's one eye (did his eyes tricked him?), but it went as fast as it came and then the man saw Zoro staring back at him with a glint of hardened resolve in his one eye. "That's why I'll do it for him. I'll deflect all of their attacks."

Zoro fully unsheathed Wado Ichimonji and slowly approached the bounty hunter. "I won't let anyone harm Luffy."

The bounty hunter let out a fearful whimper when he understood the situation he was in and the man proceeded to step backwards, away from the advancing swordsman. But he let out a gasp when his back came in contact with the alley wall, and he couldn't help but stand in a defensive stance.

"Do you guys know what would've happened if you took Luffy away?" Zoro interrogated, his eye glaring fiercely into the bounty hunter's soul. "He wouldn't be the Pirate King."

The man paled and his body shook even more. He began to panic, and the defensive stance he was in started to waver. He wanted to cry for help, but like his friend, no sound came from his mouth.

"That's why, I'm stopping you right here." Zoro said as he stood in front of his enemy. He slowly pointed Wado to the bounty hunter's pale face. "If you survive this by any chance, be my messenger and tell your friends my warning."

Before the man could even open his mouth to answer, Zoro murmured  _"Ittoryu, Yakkodori."_  and sent a powerful slash to the man's chest. Almost instantly, excruciating pain spread on the bounty hunter's chest and slowly throughout his body. The man felt blood rise to his mouth and he hoarsely coughed.

The attack sent him flying to the alley wall hard, causing some damage to his back. As the man slowly slid of the rocky wall (he could feel the blood smearing it) and as the darkness began to invade his vision, he heard the sound of a sword being sheathed and the sound of footsteps walking away. Then, he blinked up to see Zoro glance back at him and mouth a few words before he knew no more.

_"Don't get in my Captain's way."_

* * *

When the bar owner went back to the bar, it was a mess. Chairs and tables were shoved onto the floor. His sake were splattered everywhere and the floor itself was a bit uneven and dirty. But, he didn't see anyone in the bar. Not even the man that pirate had seemingly killed. When the owner walked to the spot that man was on, he only saw the words  _'Don't get in my Captain's way'_  scribbled in blood.

Screams were heard outside the bar. It seemed like the pirate wrote the same thing on the alley walls.

(After mouthing those words, Zoro had a thoughtful look on his face. If the bounty hunters are dead, he won't get the message across. Zoro glanced at the blood on the man's chest and an almost sadistic grin appeared on his face. That'll do the trick.)

**Moments before,**

"Hey, Zoro! There you are!"

"I'm late?"

"Yeah! It's passed sunset you know! Nami was really mad! Did you get lost again?"

"No, I didn't."

"Then, why are you so late? And what's that on your clothes?"

"The bar was noisy. Splattered sake everywhere."

"Oh, really? You should clean it, then."

"Yeah, I will."

"By the way, I got you something!"

"Hm? What is it?"

"Here!"

"A necklace?"

"Yup! A  _sword_  necklace! It reminded me of Zoro, so I got it for you."

"You stole it?"

"No, I bought it! Got some money from Nami."

"She's going to raise your debt then."

"It's for Zoro, so I don't care!"

"Huh."

"What, you don't like it?"

"No...I love it. Thanks, Luffy."

"Shishishi! Your welcome, Zoro!"


	9. Straw-Hats

The marine captain sniggered happily, tapping his fingers on his desk. He recently accomplished something that every marine wanted. Capturing a pirate with one of the highest bounties in the Grand Line. Oh, but not just any pirate.

He captured Straw-Hat Luffy.  _The_  Straw-Hat Luffy.

Just thinking about his achievement made his grin grow wider. He was surely going to get a high promotion after this. Fleet Admiral Akainu would be pleased, and maybe he'd make him into an Admiral!

The marine captain shook his head. That was just outrageous, too high of a feat. Even if he had captured one of the Four Emperors, becoming an Admiral overnight was impossible. Maybe...a Vice Admiral will do. The marine captain's smile came back and he unconsciously nodded. Yeah, that would do just fine.

Then, a knock on the door was heard. The captain broke out of his thinking phase and gave clearance to whoever had knocked to come in.

The doorknob slowly turned and a marine came inside. "Good afternoon, Captain." The marine closed the door and did a salute. "I have a report on Straw-Hat Luffy."

"Ah, our prisoner." The captain hummed. "Go on."

"Yes, Sir." The marine's posture straightened and he put his arm down. "The Sea-Stone cuffs are successfully weakening Straw-Hat. He didn't show any restraint in his cell."

The captain laughed. "Of course, he didn't! Those cuffs are one of the best Sea-Stone cuffs ever made. Not only does it weaken the Devil Fruit user, it slowly saps their energy as well."

"When will the Navy ship arrive to pick up Straw-Hat, Sir?" The marine asked. The captain hummed again, he almost forgot about that. He had contacted Headquarters about his successful capture and Akainu was sending a ship to take Straw-Hat to Impel Down, with Vice-Admiral Momonga in charge. The captain suppressed the urge to smile when he recalled hearing Akainu's "well done".

"Around five this evening. It would take them two hours to reach here from Headquarters." The captain informed. "Be on stand-by and make preparations for their arrival. We don't want to stain this base's name now, do we?"

"Certainly not, Sir!" The marine answered.

"Good. You're excused."

The marine's face showed hesitance. "Um, Sir? Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

The captain raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Is it okay to leave Straw-Hat by himself, without any guards? He has a bounty of five hundred million! If we underestimate him-"

The marine didn't get to finish his question when the captain laughed. "Oh, we're not underestimating him. You're right, he is very dangerous. That's why I ordered those cuffs. He has no way of escaping by himself, that's for sure."

The marine still looked skeptical, but he nodded anyway. "What should we do if Straw-Hat shows any resistance, Sir?"

"Knock some sense into him." The captain smirked. "Teach him who's in charge. Now go."

The marine nodded and gave the captain a final salute. "Yes, Sir. Pardon me." He said, opening the door and walking out of the office.

The captain leaned on his chair and let out a cold chuckle. "Your time's almost up, Straw-Hat."

* * *

A few hundred kilometers away, a pirate ship with the figurehead of a lion sailed towards the direction of the base. The deck of the ship seemed empty and devoid of life, until the galley door suddenly slammed open and eight people slowly walked outside.

"Prepare to Coup de Burst!" A ginger-haired girl instructed, pulling her hair up and tying it into a long ponytail.

"Right ahead of you, sis." A blue-haired cyborg answered as he marched onto the upper deck with a wicked glint in his eyes.

"What does the place look like, anyway?" A man said out loud, placing his hands on the hilts of the swords.

"It's a pretty famous marine base in the New World. They have a lot of modern weapons and skilled soldiers. Only a few pirates managed to escape alive." A raven-haired woman stated beside him. But despite the information she just said, the woman had a sly smile on her face. "Not that it's going to be a problem."

"Like hell it would." A blonde man said as he lighted the cigarette in his mouth. "It'll be a piece of cake."

"That's right." A boy with curly raven hair nodded. He gripped the slingshot in his hand and glared at the sea before him. "Besides, they made a huge mistake today."

"I'm not going to forgive them." A small reindeer said. Then, it suddenly transformed bigger until it was as tall as the sniper. "If they did something they shouldn't, I'm going to kill them."

"I definitely can't argue with that." A skeleton stated on the reindeer's right.

"Alright, it's fired up!" The cyborg shouted from the upper deck. He grabbed the steering wheel and glanced behind him. "Are you all ready?!"

The ginger-haired girl pulled out a small blue staff from her pocket and it automatically grew until it was taller than her. Then, she slammed the end of the weapon with a loud 'thud' onto the deck.

_The rubber man laughed and gave Nami a wide grin. "Okay! I'll leave the storm to you, Navigator!"_

The raven-haired woman stood beside her and placed her orange sunglasses onto her forehead, disclosing her serious eyes.

_Luffy's smile turned to a grin and he beamed. "Alright! Then I'll leave it to you, Archeologist!"_

The blonde man stepped up beside the ladies, and let out a puff of smoke. His scowl was deeper than usual.

_"Really?" Luffy's eyes brightened with excitement. "Then, I'll leave it to you, Cook!"_

The sniper walked forward and placed his slingshot on his shoulder. The determination on his face was anything but a lie.

_"Then, there's no need to worry!" Luffy laughed, patting Usopp's shoulder. "If something attacks me or the others, I'm counting on you to cover us, Sniper!"_

The reindeer stood on his right. He balled his fists and exhaled a furious breath. Nothing in his appearance seemed cute and tiny.

_"If something happens to me or the crew, then I'll leave it to you to patch us up, Doctor." Luffy said cheerfully with his infamous grin._

The skeleton stepped onward and it's grasp on the cane tightened. For now, he wasn't going to play any happy music.

_"When I can't sleep again," The boy mumbled before he let out a yawn. Then, he sent Brook another warm smile. "I'll leave it to you to play me a song, Musician."_

"Yeah." The swordsman said, standing beside the skeleton. He unsheathed Shusui and his lips formed into an evil grin. "We need to teach these guys a lesson-"

_Luffy's eyes lighted up and he let out a small chuckle. "I know."_ **_I'm counting on you, Swordsman._ **

"-to never take a captain away from its crew."

* * *

The marine captain slowly took a sip from his cup of tea. So far, it was a peaceful afternoon. His soldiers were on stand-by at the front of the base, just like what he had told them to. According to a Den-Den Mushi report earlier, the Navy ship was only an hour away. The captain smirked. He couldn't wait to hear the praises from the marines.

Then, he took a glance at his security camera monitor. His eyes searched for the cell his famous prisoner was in, and couldn't help but let out a sadistic chuckle when he found it.

The boy was leaning limply on the wall, with the Sea-Stone cuffs supporting his hands from above. His head was hung low, but the marine captain could tell that he was half-conscious. Apparently he had shown signs of resistance earlier, since it would explain the fresh whip slashes on his small figure.

He  _did_  tell his soldiers to knock some sense into him when he resisted, after all.

"You got what you deserved, Straw-Hat." The captain stated as he took another sip from his tea. "Don't worry, you'll join your brother soon."

The second he said that statement, the entire base suddenly shook. The captain lost his grip on his cup and the tea spilled onto his desk and his uniform.

"W-What's going on!?" The captain thought out loud as he stood up from his seat and looked around.

"Captain!" Then, the door was slammed open by one of the marine soldiers. The marine took deep breaths before he reported, "We have an emergency!"

"Emergency?" The captain questioned. "What do you mean?"

"We're being attacked!" The marine answered.

The captain's eyebrows rose and his mouth was agape. "Attacked!? By who?"

"By pirates, Sir!" The marine informed his senior. The captain furrowed his eyebrows and anger was seen in his eyes. "Pirates?"

"Y-Yes, Sir!"

With the devil's timing, a booming sound was heard outside and the base shook again. The captain gritted his teeth and gripped the table to keep his balance and not fall over. Then, he quickly walked forward and out of his office, with the marine soldier following behind him.

"What's their name?" The marine questioned his soldier.

The latter hesitated for a moment before he answered, "T-The Straw-Hat pirates, Sir!"

The captain's eyes widened and he glanced behind him. "Straw-Hat?"

"Yes, Sir! They're attacking us with their ship!"

The captain gritted his teeth. "I should've known." He mumbled, before he turned back to his soldier and asked, "How close are they?"

"About three feet away, Sir! They're really close!"

"Alright." The captain said, before he barked out his orders. "Alert the Attack Unit to fire back at them! Split into five groups and attack at every corner of this base! Overwhelm the pirates by firing at them non-stop!"

"Yes, Sir!"

* * *

"Geez, they just keep coming." Sanji muttered as he kicked away another cannonball.

"What did you expect, Mr. Nosebleed?" Zoro asked as he deflected another round of bullets from his right. "A warm welcome?"

"Shut up, Mosshead." Sanji retorted back. "We're not here for them."

"Sanji-kun's right." Nami confirmed behind them as she twirled her Clima-Tact. "We don't have time for this. We need to get inside right away."

The rest of the crew nodded, thinking of the same thing. And no one mentioned it when Sanji didn't fuss over Nami like he usually did.

"Robin, can you search for Luffy?" Nami asked the archeologist.

The young woman smiled. "Of course." Then, she closed her eyes and raised her arms into an X shape. When she heard another cannonball approaching towards her, she didn't bother to dodge as the sound of a kick was heard and the cannonball started flying away.

Inside the base, eyes started appearing in the dark area of the ceiling. Robin's eyes searched every room of the base one by one, until it finally stopped at the cells. Robin's eyes widened and she almost faltered at what she saw. When she looked more closely and confirmed what she had seen, Robin stopped searching and immediately, all of the eyes vanished into small sakura flower petals.

Outside of the base, Robin opened her eyes and slowly lowered her arms.

"So, did you find him?" Nami asked curiously.

The archeologist nodded, though her eyes were cold when she did so. "Yes, I did."

The crew noticed the slight change in Robin's attitude and knew that whatever she had seen wasn't good.

"What is it, Robin?" Usopp carefully asked. "What did you see?" If that something made even  _Robin_  mad, he didn't want to know. But at the same time, he needed to.

Robin was silent for a few minutes before she bit her lip and whispered, "...they  _touched_  him."

Silence took over and no one spoke a word. All of them stopped fighting and none of them move a muscle. Everything around them became quiet and only the sound of the wind was heard through their ears. Though they didn't know it, the Straw-Hats simultaneously repeated those three words in their minds over and over again before comprehension finally sank in.

They touched him.

...they touched Luffy.

 _They_.

_Touched._

_LUFFY!_

When it finally dawned to them the meaning of those words, a cannonball was approaching them from behind. The marines quietly cheered, thinking that the Straw-Hats had let their guard down and their attack was going to hit. But sadly, that wasn't the case.

When the cannonball was about to make impact, it was suddenly cut into pieces and was sent down to the depths of the ocean. The marines let out cries of disbelief and looked closer with a telescope to what had cut their ammo.

A shiver ran down their bodies when they saw a  _very_  angry swordsman. They flinched when they saw the crew standing with similar – if not, the exact same - looks on their faces. The marines could almost feel the crew's glares cutting into their souls.

How could a crew with a bubbly captain be  _this_  deadly?

* * *

The marine captain watched in astonishment as his soldiers were taken down right before his eyes by only eight people. What fascinated him the most, though, was the obvious rage and fury that could be seen in the crew's eyes. None of them held back and wasn't the slightest bit guilty when their attacks caused the soldiers' more pain than usual.

No sooner did the pirates stepped into the base than the marine captain snapped out of his trance.

"The pirates have invaded inside!" The captain shouted to his soldiers. "They're here for Straw-Hat Luffy! Make sure they don't get close to him!"

"Yes, Sir!" The soldiers shouted as they ran into their positions. The captain himself dashed down the stairs and went to lead the marines. "Split up into groups and slow the pirates down!"

All of a sudden, the sound of an explosion was heard at the front of the base. The captain halted and turned around to see the door being (literally) kicked out of the way. The door made impact with the wall and rubble were scattered everywhere. The captain coughed at the dust in the air and blew it away with his hand. Then, the captain turned back to where the door had been.

In its place, were eight people standing in a perfect line. All of them had determined faces but their eyes showed anger. The captain suppressed the urge to shudder.

"Chopper. Usopp." Zoro muttered as he unsheathed Sandai Kitetsu. "Find Luffy."

The duo nodded, intending to do that in the first place. Chopper sniffed the air slightly before he picked up on a very familiar scent. "That way!" The reindeer directed as he and Usopp ran towards where Luffy probably was.

Meanwhile, Zoro inspected the scene before him. Marines. Marines. Marines. Oh look, the door.

"Were they the ones who did it?" Sanji asked, taking a long drag from his cigarette. Although his tone sounded lazy, the cook's eyes were filled with anger.

"I don't know." Zoro admitted.

Beside the two, an idea popped into Robin's mind. "Why don't we ask them?" The woman smiled mischievously.

Nami took in what Robin meant and her lips curled into an evil smirk. "Brilliant idea, Robin."

"I couldn't agree more, Nami-san." Brook said as he slowly unsheathed his sword. "I need to let it out, after all."

"Same goes for me." Franky added. The cyborg aimed his right arm to the marines and his hand transformed. "I'm not a patient guy."

"Ask politely, boys." Nami said, like she wasn't prepping her Clima-Tact at all. "We're still their guests."

The five people around her grinned at her words (minus Brook, but he's doing it mentally).

"Oh, don't worry." Zoro said, as a dark aura formed around the crew and he himself was in a fighting stance. The swordsman had an eerie glint in his one eye when he added, "We'll be  _extra_  polite."

The swords in his hands gleamed, as if they agreed with their master.

The marine captain was alarmed, he knew what the crew was going to do to his men. "This is bad." The captain narrowed his eyes and prepared to step in when a hand suddenly tapped his shoulder. The captain stopped and turned around to see his vice-captain standing behind him.

"I'll handle this." He said with a blank expression. The captain's look clearly stated that he wanted to object but the vice-captain already pushed him aside and walked forward to where the pirates were.

Zoro was about to make the first move when he spotted a new addition to his prey. A tall and sturdy man was walking down the stairs, with a marine coat on his shoulders and a sword in his hand. Zoro scrutinized the man and his scowl grew deeper when he realized that the man looked familiar.

_"Luffy!" Zoro shouted frantically as the swordsman ran to save his captain. But he never made it, because all of a sudden someone stood before him and halted the pirate with his swords. Zoro's eyebrows rose and he looked up to see who had stopped him._

_"Not so fast." The man whispered, his face holding close to no emotion. Zoro took a quick glance to Luffy, who was struggling with the Sea-Stone net, and gave a death glare to the intruder._

_"Out of my way, you bastard."_

_The man's face didn't change, but he had a small smirk and answered, "Sorry, but no."_

"You're the bastard who stopped me." Zoro almost growled, his frustration increasing inside.

The man didn't react to his statement, though his eyes showed the slightest hint of amusement. "That's right, Roronoa Zoro."

Zoro's eyes darkened and the swordsman looked like a devil at this point. "I'll take that guy."

"Go ahead." Sanji blew one last puff of smoke before he put the cigarette inside his pocket for later. "We'll ask the rest."

Zoro nodded and walked closer to the vice-captain. He gripped his swords a bit tighter and the aura around him darkened even more. "You shouldn't have stopped me."

"Oh?" The man readied his own sword and stood in his battle stance. "And, why is that?"

"Because," Zoro held his swords in a parallel way to his right and his one eye seemed to glow red in fury. "I'm not in a happy mood."

* * *

Chopper and Usopp quickly ran through the corridor. Chopper changed into his reindeer form earlier, enabling him to run faster than before with Usopp riding on his back. The reindeer continued to use his sense of smell to track his captain while Usopp got rid of any marines they met on the way.

"How far is he, Chopper?" Usopp asked his friend, firing another Pop Green to a group of marines.

"We're almost there!" Chopper replied, increasing his pace. "His smell's getting stronger."

"Good." Usopp nodded as he grabbed onto his friend's fur so that he wouldn't fall off. "We need to get to Luffy as fast as possible!"

In front of them, the sound of heavy footsteps approaching started to get louder. Usopp squinted his eyes and managed to see the silhouettes of about fifty marines.

"Stop right there, pirates!" The marines shouted. Usopp gritted his teeth and grabbed a handful of Pop Greens out of his bag. The sniper quickly put them in his slingshot and aimed it towards the mob of marines. "Get out of the way! We don't have time to deal with you!"

The sniper quickly locked on to the middle of the mob and fired his ammo.  _"Midori Boshi, Take Jave Rin!"_

As soon as the Pop Green hit the floor, stalks of bamboo shot up from the surface and impaled every single marine. Chopper swiftly avoided all of the bamboo and continued to run towards his captain's smell.

A few minutes later, the duo stopped in front of a door from the fifth corridor they had tried. Usopp stepped off of Chopper and inspected the door. "Is Luffy on the other side?"

Chopper sniffed the air and nodded. "There's no mistake. He's in there." Then, his nose caught onto an all too familiar smell. Chopper's eyes widened and he walked closer to the door. The reindeer sniffed one more time and all color drained from his face.

"I smell blood." Chopper said in a horrified tone. Usopp let out a silent gasp and turned to his friend so quick he could've snapped his neck. "Are you sure?"

Chopper scowled and gave him a hesitant nod. "Positive. And judging by the strong scent, there's a lot of it."

Usopp gritted his teeth and he turned back to the door with newfound dread. "Luffy!" The sniper grabbed the doorknob and tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. "Damn it!"

"Stand back, Usopp." Chopper said from behind him. Usopp turned around and saw the reindeer taking a few steps back and pointing his body towards the door. Usopp was barely a meter from the door when Chopper barged into it  _hard_. The force of the impact made a giant hole in the middle of the door, creating an entrance for them both.

"You okay, Chopper?" Usopp asked as he crouched down to the reindeer's height, who had transformed back to his small size.

Chopper gave him a reassuring grin and a thumbs-up. "Yeah, my head's pretty hard after all!"

Usopp smiled in return and patted Chopper's head. Then, the sniper stood up and searched inside the hole. The room was dark, but Usopp could make out some metal bars on the side.

"Is this..?" Usopp trailed off as he stepped into the hole, Chopper not far behind him. The doctor's eyes scanned the area, spotting a few handcuffs on the wall and a set of keys on a table a few feet away from him. In front of them, a row of cells were seen in the darkness.

"A prison." Chopper stated, confirming Usopp's thoughts. Then, he sniffed the air again. The scent was stronger than ever, meaning that they're at the right place. "Luffy's close."

Usopp nodded. "Where is he?"

"There." Chopper pointed to a cell on their right. Without any hesitation, the duo quickly ran to the cell and clutched at the bars. Inside the cell, they could see the figure of a boy leaning against the wall.

"Lu-" Chopper said happily but he paled instantly when he saw his captain's condition.

To say that Luffy looked horrible was an understatement. The boy's clothes were ripped and torn open, as if someone had teared them off forcefully. There was no part of Luffy's skin that wasn't covered in cuts and bruises, all of them looked fresh and new.

Luffy's hands were cuffed and restrained by the Sea-Stone cuffs above him, which was the only thing supporting his body right now. His head was hung low, so they couldn't get to see his face. But considering the blood that was dripping from his forehead continuously, it was bad.

But the worse part was the whip marks on Luffy's skin, especially on his chest. Multiple marks were visible to their eyes, and they overlapped each other. The marks were still bleeding, meaning that it was recently done.

The blood surrounding Luffy's body wasn't the biggest amount they'd ever seen, but it was still  _so freaking much_.

"L-Luffy...?" Usopp squeaked out, his body shaking. He didn't know if it was because of the shock of seeing Luffy in this state or the uncontrolled anger to whoever that did this to his friend. A part of him expected this since Robin told them about Luffy's condition, but he didn't want to believe it.

"Lu...Luffy!" Chopper stifled a sob as tears started to form in his eyes. How could someone do this to  _Luffy_ , of all people?

For some reason, Luffy's weak body still managed to hear his name being called so he let out a low, painful moan. Usopp and Chopper's heads perked up at the quiet sound.

"Luffy! Can you speak?" Chopper shouted, desperately hoping for any kind of reaction from his captain.

Luffy let out a few grunts of pain before he slowly opened his eyes. "Cho..pp..er?"

"Luffy!" Chopper's tears finally fell and his lips curled into a tearful, relieved smile. "Yeah, it's me!"

"Hey, Luffy!" Usopp gripped the bars hard and brought his face closer. "Can you hear me?"

"U-U...ss..op?" Luffy said hoarsely.

Usopp would later deny the tears streaming down his face, but right now he didn't care. "Y-Yeah Luffy, I'm here! The others are too!"

"Ever..y...on..e?" Luffy asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeah!" Usopp nodded, not minding the slight crack in his voice. "Zoro, Robin, Sanji, Franky, Nami and Brook! All of us are here to save you!"

Luffy slowly turned his head upwards to where his friends were. His eyes were a fraction wider than normal and a faint smile was etched on his face. "Re..ally?"

"Yeah." Chopper smiled, wiping his tears from his face. "But, don't talk yet, Luffy. Save your energy."

The boy didn't say anything, but both of them saw him giving a small nod. "'Kay."

"Wait right there, Luffy," Usopp said as he tried to open the cell by separating the bars with his hands. "We're going to get you out!"

"Damn, how hard are these bars?" Usopp cursed when he tried to move the bars to no avail.

"Wait! I saw a set of keys earlier." Chopper declared. "Maybe one of them is the key to the cell."

"Good idea, Chopper!" Usopp grinned at his friend. "Mind if you can get it for me?"

Chopper gave him a nod. "I'll be right back!" Then, the reindeer ran off out of the sniper's sight.

Usopp took this chance to take a closer look at Luffy. The boy was still awake, the sniper could tell, but he was far from a healthy state. Now that Usopp inspected closer, he could see that Luffy's slightly paler than usual. And, his arms and legs had gone quite skinny too.

Usopp frowned. Luffy hadn't been captured for a long period of time, one hour at most. But it was not that long that it made the rubber boy lose weight.

Then, Usopp's eyes noticed the Sea-Stone cuffs holding Luffy up.  _Those cuffs must be special,_  Usopp thought.  _It's not like any other Sea-Stone cuffs I've seen._

"I got it!" Usopp was snapped from his thinking by Chopper's alerting voice. The sniper turned around and saw the reindeer running closer to him with a set of keys in his hoove.

Usopp smiled and took the keys out of Chopper's hoove. "Thanks, Chopper." Then, the sniper fumbled with finding the right key for the cell lock.

"Is it this one?" Usopp randomly picked a key and put it inside the lock. It wouldn't budge.

The sniper scowled and pulled the key back. "No. Um, this one?" He picked another random key and tried again.

"Maybe..this one."

And again.

"I know, it's this one!"

And again.

"Aha! it's  _got_  to be this one!"

And again. But, no luck.

"...damn."

"Usopp, hurry up! We don't have time for this!" Chopper pointed out beside him.

"I-I know! Wait a second." Usopp grabbed the last key and put it inside the lock, praying to every God out there to  _please, let this be the one._  And apparently they heard, since the lock opened and the cell was now accessible.

Chopper gazed at the unlocked cell in amazement before he let out a huge grin. "Awesome, Usopp! You did it!"

"Y-Yeah..." Usopp stared at it in shock before he snapped back into reality and quickly opened the cell. "Luffy!"

Chopper finally composed himself and followed behind the sniper. Inside the cell, Usopp used the same set of keys earlier to open the Sea-Stone cuffs and this time, he inspected the lock first so that he could use the right key.

"Chopper, make sure you catch Luffy." Usopp said as he finished and fumbled for the keys. Chopper nodded and transformed into his human form, crouching down slightly near the raven-haired boy.

"Don't worry, Luffy." Chopper murmured now that he could see Luffy's pained expression. The boy looked up to him and Chopper offered a small smile. "We're going back home."

Luffy's eyes widened in the slightest. "H..ome?"

"That's right." Usopp said as he finally unlocked the cuffs, causing Luffy to lose his balance and tumble down to the ground. But he never came in touch with the cold and hard floor. Instead, he was caught into warm and furry arms.

"Gotcha." Chopper said, slowly lifting Luffy up and was careful to not make his injuries worse. The reindeer positioned Luffy so that he was supporting the boy's head with his arm. Almost immediately, Chopper could feel a liquid moisture staining his fur. He took a glance and saw that his fur was coated with blood. Luffy's blood.

"L-Luffy.." A flash of fear was seen in Chopper's eyes, and he unconsciously tightened his grip on his captain. Usopp noticed Chopper's change in behavior and glanced at Luffy's face. But, the sniper saw red when he noticed the amount of blood dripping from the rubber boy's head. Usopp balled his fists, if only they'd gotten here sooner. Luffy wouldn't have to suffer like this!

"Wha's...wro..ng?" Both of them snapped back into reality when Luffy's weak voice reached their ears. His eyes were half-open, but there was a glint of concern in the captain's expression.

Chopper mentally slapped himself for worrying his captain, when it was supposed to be the other way. "Nothing. Let's go, Luffy." He sent Luffy a warm smile and slowly stood up, carrying Luffy bridal style. "We're getting out of here, then you can enjoy all the meat you want."

"Rea..lly?" Luffy's tired voice asked, but there was a hint of excitement in his tone.

Usopp stepped closer to his captain and gently ruffled his hair, careful not to put any pressure. "Yeah! We can also fish together later, how does that sound?"

Despite his weak body and the lack of energy, Luffy managed to give them a small (albeit tired) smile. "F..un..!"

Usopp and Chopper smiled fondly at their captain and nodded. "Alright. Let's get out of here, Captain. The others are waiting." Usopp said.

Luffy slowly nodded and closed his eyes. Usopp glanced at Chopper and gave him a nod and gestured to the outside of the cell. Chopper understood and he quickly, and carefully, walked out of the cell first, with Usopp following behind them.

"Chopper, you might need to check these Sea-Stone cuffs." Usopp reminded. "I think they're different than normal Sea-Stone."

"Yeah, I noticed." Chopper said, recalling how he felt the effects just by standing near it. "Don't worry, I'll do some research later on the Sunny."

"Good." Usopp nodded before he took a glance behind him. "Go ahead of me, Chopper."

Chopper turned to the sniper, who had halted in his tracks. "What are you going to do?"

The sniper didn't glance back, instead he gazed at the prison around him. "I'm going to do some spring cleaning." He replied as his hand went to his slingshot and bag. Chopper could almost hear the smirk evident on his face. "This place is kind of dirty, after all."

The reindeer stared at Usopp's back and smiled. "Alright. I'm off." Then, Chopper carefully walked through the hole and out of the prison, leaving Usopp alone.

Well, not exactly.

"Hey, kid." Usopp's ears perked up and he turned his body to the cell on his left. Inside it was a man, not looking too good for wears, but he looked better than Luffy. Usopp wasn't surprised, since he noticed earlier that Luffy wasn't the only prisoner here.

"Get me out too, while you're at it." The man whispered, his cold eyes staring at Usopp's brown ones. His glare was enough to make anyone else cower in fear, but Usopp didn't even blink. "I'm a pirate, just like you."

Usopp was silent for a minute, before he pulled a few Pop Greens from his bag. "Sorry, but I'm not in the mood."

The man was startled by the answer. "What are you talking about? Just open my cell, that's all I'm asking for! You came here to free us pirates, right?"

"Nope." Usopp put the ammo into his slingshot and aimed it at the center of the prison. His eyes didn't hold any trace of doubt or shame when he said, "Just one."

The man's eyes widened. "Wha-"

But he didn't manage to finish his sentence as Usopp fired the Pop Greens and fled through the hole, his ears deaf from the man's desperate screams. The sniper quickly caught up with Chopper and the duo continued to run back to where their friends were, with Luffy safe in Chopper's arms.

They didn't flinch when an explosion erupted behind them. In fact, they grinned.

Both of them were still furious, after all. They needed to let their anger out on  _something_.

* * *

"Pathetic." Zoro muttered as he slowly lowered his swords.

In front of him, the vice-captain lied on a pool of blood. The man's face was frozen in a silent scream, and his eyes rolled on the back of his head.

Zoro stared at him with a disappointed look. "And, you call yourself a Vice-Captain."

"Oi, Moss Head!" Sanji called out from Zoro's right. Zoro glanced and saw Sanji standing on the defeated marines. Looks like he's done too. "Did you ask him yet?"

Zoro blinked and comprehension washed over his face. He knew he forgot something. "Oh yeah." Then, the swordsman walked closer and nudged the vice-captain with his sword. "Hey, were you the one that hurt our captain?"

"That's not how you do it, idiot!" Sanji yelled in frustration. "You're supposed to ask him before you take him down!"

"How should I know?!" Zoro shouted back, a tick appearing on his forehead.

"We discussed this earlier!" Sanji cried out. "Don't tell me your memory's worse than your sense of direction!"

"What did you say, Dartbrow!?"

Nami sighed as she watched two of the Monster Trio fight it off, again. "When will they stop fighting?"

"Never." Robin chuckled beside the navigator. "They would fight, even in death."

Nami rubbed her temple, not even bothering to deny that fact. "Should've known." She glanced at the older girl and asked, "So? Did you get anything?"

Robin shook her head. "No. I guess I went a bit overboard at my way of asking."

Nami sweat-dropped, recalling the way Robin had asked the marines and gave them a sweet smile before she quickly broke their necks when she got a negative answer. "You're scary, Robin."

Robin stifled a giggle. "You're not so innocent yourself, Nami."

Nami thought back to how she asked the marines. A quick question, different but otherwise negative answers, a roll of thunder crashing down and the marines didn't get up.

The navigator shrugged. "They deserved it. Didn't give me any useful information at all."

"You can say that again." Franky said as he approached them, careful not to step onto any of the marines on the floor. "All they did was scream like little girls."

"Yohoho! That's to be expected, Franky-san." Brook added, walking over to them as well. "Having a cannon on your face would make anyone scream."

"Not me!" Franky defended, doing his signature pose. "I'm  _SUPER_ , after all! Right, ladies?"

"Yeah, yeah." Nami waved him off and looked at their surroundings, resting her weapon on her shoulder. "Did we get everybody?"

"I think so, Nami-san." Brook replied, glancing around as well. "I don't see anyone standing besides us."

Nami had a suspicious look on her face, thinking otherwise. "Search around, guys. Just in-" She was interrupted by the sound of rushing footsteps from one of the corridors. The four of them turned around and began to ready their weapons.

A few feet away, Zoro and Sanji stopped fighting and glanced at the sound. Unlike the others, the duo was calm and merely waited for them to come out.

"Everyone!" Chopper's voice instantly made them lower their weapons and relaxed their postures. Nami let out a relieved breath, Franky had a reassured smile on his face and Brook sheathed his sword. If Chopper was here, that meant he found Luffy.

But, Robin still had a cautious look on her face. Something in the reindeer's tone didn't sound good. Apparently Zoro and Sanji thought of the same thing, since scowls were etched onto their faces.

A few seconds later, all of them could see the figures of Chopper and Usopp running towards them, with the reindeer carrying something in his arms.

"Chopper! Usopp!" Nami shouted, waving her arm at the two. "Did you find-" But her words got stuck in her throat when she saw what – or,  _who_  - Chopper was carrying.

Nami's hands went to her mouth when a choked gasp went out without her knowing. She didn't need to alert the others, since they saw it too.

Robin's eyes landed on the beaten figure and her eyebrows rose along with her terrified eyes.

Franky's mouth was agape and the smile instantly fell off his face.

Brook's sockets went wide and his jaw dropped. The part of his body he didn't know he still had, shattered.

The cigarette on Sanji's mouth almost fell as the blonde lost all color on his face.

Zoro stared at the boy with a wide eye. The usually stoic swordsman felt something he hadn't felt in a while.  _Fear_.

Zoro's mouth opened and closed, until it finally remembered how to function again. "LUFFY!"

The sound of his voice popped the bubble around the crew.

"Luffy!" Nami shouted, running over to Chopper and Usopp as fast as they can. The others followed suit, this time not caring if they stepped on a few bodies along the way. The only thing they saw right now was the beaten and pale form of their captain being carried in his doctor's arms.

But, Zoro and Sanji got to them first. The four people met halfway, making Chopper and Usopp halt and take a few deep breaths.

"What the hell happened!?" Sanji hissed out as he studied the wounds on Luffy's body. The other four Straw-Hats gathered around their captain, and Sanji didn't even react when Nami's breath hitched behind him.

"T-They chained him." Usopp said between breaths. "He was already like this when we came."

Beside him, Chopper looked close to tears as he held Luffy a bit tighter. "R-Robin was right...!" The reindeer said, barely holding a sob. "T-They..!"

But, he didn't need to finish as the others put the pieces together.

Robin's statement earlier on the ship. The fresh wounds on Luffy's body. The blood on Chopper's fur. The whip marks on their captain's already scarred chest. The red marks on his wrist.

Everything fits a bit too perfectly for their liking.

"Those bastards..." Franky's eye glowed red and he gritted his teeth, looking ready to give the marines hell.

Brook had no expression on his face as he shakily unsheathed his cane and said in a deathly tone, "I'll make them pay."

Nami's face darkened as her body silently trembled. "Unforgivable..." The ginger-haired girl muttered, as she gripped her Clima-Tact so hard her knuckles turned white and a flash of uncontrolled rage was evident in her eyes. "I'll never forgive them!"

Then, Luffy suddenly began to stir. It didn't went unnoticed, as the crew stopped what they were doing and set their eyes on their captain. Zoro, who was unnaturally silent the whole time, took a step closer to the bundle on Chopper's arms and said in a surprisingly gentle tone, "Luffy?"

The familiar voice was enough for Luffy to gather his energy and slowly open his eyes. The captain blinked a few times, before his vision cleared and he saw his crew staring at him in worry. "G..uys?"

Instantly, the crew let out breaths of relief they didn't know were holding. "Luffy!" Nami tearfully said as the Straw-Hats silently gathered around the rubber boy.

"You...ca..me." Luffy said hoarsely.

Sanji exhaled a sigh but it had no trace of frustration. His hand went to ruffle the younger boy's hair (not minding the crimson tint coming from it) as he stated, "Of course we did, you idiot. We're your crew, remember?"

It took Luffy a minute before he understood. Then, he let out a weak laugh and a small (but still bright) smile appeared on his face. "I knew...you would..come!"

All of the Straw-Hats smiled fondly at their leader. Luffy's bright smile eased all of their worries and somehow in that moment, they knew that he was going to be okay.

But then, Sanji and Zoro suddenly tensed. The duo glanced behind them and saw a man standing a few feet away. It didn't take long for them to recognize his face, and instantly their faces went dark and both of them sent death glares at the man, causing him to step back.

The others noticed the duo's attitude and turned to their line of sight. They took in the man's appearance and the memories of earlier this afternoon came tumbling down.

_"Luffy!"_

_"L-Let me go..!"_

_"Haha! I finally caught you, Straw-Hat!"_

_"Give him back!"_

_"I'm sorry, but he's mine now. You have to say goodbye to your captain, since this will be the last time you'll see him."_

_"You bastard!"_

_"This is where we part ways, Straw-Hat Pirates. Farewell."_

_"LUFFY!"_

It took everything in them to not lunge at the man right then and there. Usopp put a hand on Chopper's fur when the reindeer let out a low growl.

Luffy noticed the not-so-subtle change in his friends and he was about to turn his head to where his crew were staring at when suddenly Sanji blocked his line of sight.

"Luffy?" Sanji said before the boy, his tone calm and gentle.

"Hn?"

"Mind waiting for a minute?" The cook sent Luffy a reassuring smile. "We want to finish something."

Luffy slowly blinked. "A min'te?"

Sanji gave him a nod. "Yeah, a minute."

"Who..?"

"The big one." Nami answered for him. A hint of recognition flashed on Luffy's face and the boy hummed. "Oh..sure." The captain leaned back slightly on Chopper's fur. "I..leave him...t'ya guys."

"Yeah, don't worry." Usopp said as he stepped forward to join the others.

"Just take a nap, Captain." Zoro glanced at the younger boy. His face was blank but there was a hint of affection in his eyes. "We'll be back on the Sunny when you wake up."

Luffy nodded as he let the exhaustion take over. "Yea'. Have...fun." The boy said, closing his eyes and drifting off to a much-needed sleep.

Smirks slowly appeared on the Straw-Hats' faces, with some of them letting out a chuckle.

"Oh, don't worry." Zoro said. The swordsman stared at the man like a starving predator. "We will."

"Chopper." Franky said, grabbing the reindeer's attention. "Take Luffy to the Sunny. We'll be quick."

The cyborg wasn't surprised when Chopper shook his head. "I want to pay him back for what he did to Luffy." Chopper glanced at the marine captain with a cold glare. "Let me give him at least one punch."

Franky chuckled. "Alright, but put Luffy somewhere safe first."

"Preferably, somewhere near where we can reach him." Brook added. Chopper gave them a nod and walked over to a clean spot on the floor before he gently placed Luffy down.

Meanwhile, the marine captain stared in disbelief at his soldiers on the floor. Those pirates defeated them like it was child play and that swordsman beat his vice-captain without breaking a sweat! And, now he was the last one standing.

But the marine captain quickly regained his composure, put on a brave face and scowled at the crew in front of him. "Hmph. What kind of captain is he?" He glanced at Luffy and gave him a disgusted look. "Leaving his crew to do the dirty work."

"Don't talk like you're any better." Sanji said as he stepped forward beside the swordsman. The cook grabbed his already-used cigarette and lit it again.

"I  _am_  better. I care about my soldiers, I don't leave them behind." The captain stated. "You're all fighting around while he just sleeps without a care in the world. No wonder he couldn't save his brother-"

But his mouth stopped moving when out of the blue, his body was pinned onto the floor by a metallic blue staff. "Care to repeat that?" Nami whispered before him in a deathly tone.

Before he could utter out a response, he felt a powerful, blazing hot kick on his stomach and the captain coughed out blood. "Luffy's a billion times better than you piece of scum." Sanji said as he bit his cigarette harder.

"Our captain cares about us more than anyone." Then, a strong furry punch came in contact with his face. Chopper's eyes flashed emotions of blind fury. "He always pushes himself to save all of us."

"Luffy never leaves us behind." After that, his vision was blocked by a black slingshot aiming at his face. Behind it, Usopp bit his trembling lip as bad memories tumbled into his mind. "He always waits for us to come back."

Then, the captain felt multiple hands sprout from inside his body and suddenly he was bent into an awkward yet painful position. "You have no right to insult him when you know nothing." Robin stated, looking ready to go for the kill.

Even though he was (literally) down, the marine captain wasn't out quite yet. "Oh, but I know. Word spreads fast here in Marine bases. That idiot made a name for himself in a pretty unique way."

The captain struggled under Robin's tight grip but he still managed to have a smirk on his face and say, "Defeated the Warlord, Crocodile and caused chaos at the kingdom of Alabasta. Stormed to Enies Lobby and took down the supposedly invisible CP9." Robin's grip loosened a bit at the name and her eyes softened in the slightest. "Invaded Impel Down and escaped alive. Joined the War of the Best and lost his brother, unfortunately." The captain didn't miss the way Nami and Usopp gripped their weapons harder, and he certainly didn't miss the arms around him grasping tighter.

The captain grunted, but he still continued on. "And now, he defeated another Warlord, Doflamingo. Does this brat have to cause trouble wherever he goes? He's just fighting on a whim!"

Nami gritted her teeth and shoved her Clima-Tact harder, earning another grunt from the marine. "What do you know!?" The navigator hissed out.

Suddenly, the end of a sword slammed onto the floor, mere inches from the marine's face. "Luffy-san didn't do those things on a  _whim_." The captain slowly looked up and saw a skeleton whose stare creeped him to the bone (not that he'd ever admit it). "He did that for a purpose."

Despite the situation he was in, the captain still had the guts to snort. "I know, to make himself more famous and to increase his bounty. That kind of stuff."

"You're wrong." Franky declared, approaching the stubborn captain. The cyborg cracked his knuckles as he added, "Luffy didn't do it because of that."

The marine blinked. He wasn't expecting that statement. "Then, what? What made him do all of those crazy stuff?"

To his surprise, the Straw-Hats smiled.

"For his friends." Chopper replied nostalgically.

The captain raised an eyebrow. "Friends?" He questioned.

Robin's eyes softened and she nodded. "He defeated Crocodile for a friend. He stormed into Enies Lobby to save a friend. He invaded Impel Down and Marineford to save his brother-"

"Which he failed to do." The marine cut her off. Which he immediately regretted, because not a second later he felt a frighteningly cold and sharp blade resting on his neck.

"Close your mouth or I'll slice it for you." Zoro threatened. The marine could almost feel the glint in the pirate's eye piercing his body.

The marine captain gulped. Eight of the Straw-Hat pirates encircled him from every side, making it impossible for him to look anywhere besides them. All of them let out a vibe of unwavering determination.

The marine captain had met a lot of pirates in his career and also caught a handful of strong crews, but he was never truly intimidated by them. But right now it was safe to say that he was, for the first time ever, feeling unnerved by the bleakness of the Straw-Hats' gaze.

Never had he felt this kind of emotion surging through his body before, let alone by a  _nine-member_  pirate crew.

Zoro stared at the marine and eventually got bored of his face. The first mate leaned back slightly and took a quick glance at the base lobby. "Hey, Dartbrow."

Instead of getting pissed and starting a fight with the swordsman, Sanji merely exhaled a puff of smoke and calmly said, "What is it, Moss Head?"

"Does this place look ugly to you?" Zoro asked.

The cook raised an eyebrow before he quickly scanned the area around him. "Come to think of it, it looks too grey."

"Needs some sunlight." Nami added, taking in how dark it seemed.

"I can barely feel the air!" Usopp exaggerated, despite the large hole they made earlier when Sanji kicked the door.

"Then, it's settled." Zoro glanced behind him. "Chopper-"

"I got him." Chopper said as he gently lifted Luffy into his arms and walked outside the base.

"Good." Zoro said before he averted his gaze to the marine captain. "Robin."

"Leave it to me." Robin smiled as another set of arms sprouted from the captain's body. The arms held the captain down, making it impossible for him to escape. The captain groaned at the arms' tight grasp.

Zoro nodded. "Alright, you guys know what to do." The first mate stood up and put Wado Ichimonji in his mouth, holding Shushui with his right hand and Sandai Kitetsu with his left.

The others grinned, turning away from the confused captain and splitting up. All of them readied their weapons and as one, attacked the walls around them. The combination of their attacks damaged the building, making it shake like an earthquake.

The marine captain gasped. "H-Hey! What are you doing!?"

"Giving this place a makeover." Nami stated as a large amount of pressurized air burst out from her Clima-Tact, damaging the building even more.

"This has got to go." Franky grinned, shooting the staircase in front of him. The cyborg spotted a picture of the marine captain on the wall and grimaced in disgust. "Ew, that too. That thing's too disgusting to live."

Brook inspected the walls and mentally scowled at how dirty it looked. "These bricks are dusty." The skeleton slowly unsheathed Soul Solid and slashed it towards the wall, "We don't want that, do we?"

The captain grew more panicked as he witnessed his base slowly being destroyed. "Stop! We just captured your captain for a short while! You can't destroy our base just because of that!" He struggled to get out of Robin's grip but to no avail. "Don't you pirates have some pride!?"

"Oh, we do." Sanji replied. The cook kicked down the wall hard, leaving behind a large hole. "That's why we're not doing this because of that."

"W-What are you talking about?" The marine asked in bewilderment.

"You didn't just capture Luffy." Zoro muttered after he cut down another pillar. The images of Luffy's battered body when Chopper had brought him in was still fresh in his mind. The swordsman bit back a growl when he glared at the captain and said, "You  _touched_  him."

The marine captain was baffled. "Wha-? I-I didn't touch him at all!"

"Maybe  _you_  didn't, but the people in this base did." Usopp said, gritting his teeth in anger when he recalled his captain's earlier state. The sniper shot another round of Pop Greens at every direction, not letting a single thing escape from his wrath. "That's why we're closing this place down!"

"This is not your property!" The marine captain declared. "You don't have the right!"

Franky halted from shooting the wall and turned to the marine with an irritated look. "We don't have the right, you say?"

Before the marine captain could even nod, Sanji sent a hard kick on the floor beside him. The marine flinched when some of the debris landed on his face.

"You must be joking." Sanji snarled at him. "First, you took our captain from us."

"Second," The arms around the captain grasped him tighter and he looked up to see Robin give him a dark look. "You planned to take him to Impel Down, off all places." The captain's eyes widened at her statement. How could've she known? He never told them anything about that piece of information.

As if she read his thoughts, Robin flashed him a sly smile. "I heard."

"And third," Without warning, five shuriken-like things landed near the captain's face, making him shriek. A few feet away, Usopp slowly lowered his slingshot. "You  _touched_  him."

The sniper's eyes darkened and his hands closed into fists. "You and your people dared to hurt Luffy with your filthy hands."

"That's right." Brook solemnly nodded as he slashed the wall again. "So you see, we have all the right in the world."

"Besides, even if we don't have the right, did you think that we'd stay still and do nothing?" Robin asked the marine captain. "Pirates don't obey the law, I thought Enies Lobby confirmed that."

Beads of sweat started to form on the marine captain's forehead and his body started to shake. Somewhere in his mind, he began to comprehend that this was it. His base was slowly crumbling down and he knew that it won't last any longer.

Then, the marine captain heard the sound of footsteps approaching. He turned around and saw the five pirates walking towards him.

"You know that pirates always protect their treasure, right?" Nami smirked, twirling her Clima-Tact in her hand. "They protect it with their very lives, no matter the situation or the foe."

The navigator stopped before him and slammed her staff near his face. The captain could feel his heart rate quicken when she leaned forward slightly and whispered, "But, what happens when you steal a pirate's treasure? Do they just let you escape?"

"No." Robin said as she stood beside Nami with a cold smile.

Then, the captain was met with a black slingshot aiming at his face. "Do they give it up and find another treasure?" Usopp said with a peculiar glint in his eyes.

"No!" Chopper cried out from outside, carrying a sleeping Luffy in his arms.

"Do they let their treasure be broken?" Franky tapped his cannon on his left palm repeatedly and the captain could almost see his eye shining in a creepy red glow like a robot.

"No." Brook stated as he leaned on his sword like it was a cane (technically it was, but right now it wasn't).

"Do they kill the one who stole their treasure?" Sanji exhaled a long plume of smoke and flashed a sly smirk. The captain felt dread spread throughout his body and his face lost all color.

"No." Zoro said blankly. The captain almost breathed out a sigh of relief until he saw the swordsman's cold-blooded stare and how his sword was too close for the marine captain's liking. "..not yet, anyway."

The captain's eyes widened and he started to sweat more rapidly. Then, Zoro crouched down and gripped the captain's collar in a not-so-gentle way. "This is our final warning, you scum." Zoro growled out. "If you dare to even lay a finger on Luffy after this, always know that we'll pay you a visit."

"Luffy's the future Pirate King and we're his crew." Nami stated without hesitation.

"His dream is our dream, and we want to see it come true." Sanji said as the rest of the Straw-Hats encircled the marine captain once more. The marine captain quivered and his eyes were wide in terror.

What he saw before him weren't seven humans. No, what stood before him right now were seven  _devils_. All of the Straw-Hats had hostile smirks etched onto their faces and their eyes promised him  _pain_.

"That's why..." Zoro trailed off as everyone aimed their weapons at the marine captain. Before he could feel a sword slashing at his chest or sparks of thunder electrocuting him or a scorching hot kick on his torso, the marine captain heard the six words that would plague him until the day of his death.

_"Don't get in our Captain's way!"_

* * *

When the Navy ship arrived at the base to pick up Straw-Hat Luffy, they were shocked to find the building in a complete wreck. Vice-Admiral Momonga ordered his soldiers to search for any survivors while he himself walked around to find out who caused this disaster.

When the Vice-Admiral spotted a near-demolished wall, he abruptly halted in his tracks. The marine's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Then, he quickly rushed back to the ship and made a call to Headquarters. A few days later, a newspaper headline shocked the New World.

Written in bold letters were,  **STRAW HATS ATTACKED A MARINE BASE**. Below it was a picture of the same wall with a one sentence burned into the cement in big letters.

**_'That's what you get for taking our captain.' – Straw Hat Crew._ **

(The Straw-Hats looked away from the beaten captain and scanned their surroundings. "What if he doesn't wake up?" Usopp mumbled.

"That'd be a problem." Robin said. "No on would know our message. And there's not enough blood for us to write it on the wall."

"Should I get more blood, then?" Zoro asked blankly as he prepared to slash the captain again.

"Let me do it, Moss Head." Sanji stated, setting his foot ablaze.

"Wait, you two." Nami held out a hand in front of the duo. "We don't want to go back bloody. Luffy hates the smell, remember?"

Both of them lowered their weapons instantly. "Oh yeah. Forgot." Zoro said.

"Besides," Nami stared at one of the walls and grinned. "I have an idea. Franky, I'll have to borrow your cannon."

"Wait, what?")

**Elsewhere on the Thousand Sunny,**

"Ugh-what the?"

"Luffy! You're awake!"

"W-Where am I?"

"You're in the infirmary. You were in quite a bad shape earlier."

"I was?"

"Yeah. You had us worried, Luffy."

"Ah, sorry Chopper."

"It's fine. Just don't take off your bandages and relax, okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks for patching me up, Doctor!"

"S-Shut up! Calling me Doctor doesn't make me happy at all, y-you bastard!"

"Oh. About time you wake up, shitty captain."

"Sanji! Me-"

"Here."

"Wha'?...Mmm, dewicious!"

"Thought that would be the first thing you want."

"Dhank ya', Coog!"

"Swallow first, idiot...take it easy."

"Owkay!"

"Oh, Luffy! You're awake!"

"Luffy!"

"Usopp! Nami! Hi-OUCH! THAT HURTS! What was that for, Nami!?"

"That was for getting captured! Did you know how much trouble we got just by getting you out!? Not to mention the medicine Chopper had to use cost a lot of money!"

"Alright, I'm sorry! I'll pay for it later-"

"That's not what I meant, idiot!"

"Then, what is-Ugh!"

"..."

"..Nami?"

"...did you know how worried we were when we found you? Y-You were a total mess..."

"..."

"Be careful next time, you got that!?"

"Shishishi! I will!..Thanks, Navigator."

"By the way, Luffy! I took down a lot of marines earlier!"

"Really, you did?"

"Yup! They were all too scared after I fired my Pop Greens at them! Oh, and don't worry! I covered everyone up!"

"You did? Thank you, Sniper!"

"N-No problem, Luffy! That's what I do best!"

"Besides lying?"

"Oi, Robin! Don't ruin the moment!"

"Sorry, Usopp. I couldn't resist."

"Robin!"

"I'm glad you're awake, Luffy. Do you want me to read you a book later?"

"Oh yeah!"

"Which one?"

"The Pirate King one!"

"Fufufu. Alright."

"Yes! Thanks, Archeologist!"

"Oh, Luffy's up already?"

"Luffy-san! I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Franky! Brook!"

"Feeling better, Captain?"

"Yeah! I feel much better!"

"Great! I have a new invention I want to show you later, want to check it out?"

"REALLY!?"

"You bet, I made it just for you!"

"That sounds great! Thanks, Shipwright!"

"Your  _SUPER_  welcome!"

"Luffy-san, do you want me to play your favorite songs later?"

"Yeah!"

"Yohoho! Then, I will do just that!"

"You will? Thank you, Musician!"

"It's my pleasure, Luffy-san. And-AH! Whoops, almost slipped. Sorry, Zoro-san. Didn't see you there."

"Whoaamm...it's fine."

"Hm? Zoro, where are you?"

"Down here, Captain."

"You were sleeping?"

"Yeah."

"Under my bed?"

"Yeah."

"He's been there since we put you here and refused to move."

"One more word and I'll kill you, Chopper."

"Y-Yes, Sir!"

"..."

"..."

"You took them out for me, did you Zoro?"

"Yeah."

"I see...Thanks, Swordsman."

"...it was nothing, Captain."

"By the way, what's that on your hand, Nami?"

"Oh, this? Just a newspaper."

"About what?"

"Nothing important. Just some talk about marines and all that stuff. You don't need to see it."

"Oh, okay!"

"Anyway..."

"Hm? What is it?"

"We know you weren't gone for that long, Luffy. But..we still need to say this."

"Say what?"

"Welcome home, Captain."

"..."

"I'm home, guys...I'm home."


	10. BONUS: Law, Orlumbus, and Leo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED EPISODE 745 OR CHAPTER 800+!

"Damn you, Zoro- _ya_ ," Law grumbled, rubbing his bandaged abdomen. "You're lucky my wounds didn't open after your _gentle_ tug."

"Just shut up and dig in, Tra-guy," Zoro grinned, gesturing to the mug Law held in his hand. "There's plenty of booze around here."

"I was enjoying some myself before you came over and forced me to-" Law halted and sighed, shaking his head. "You know what? Never mind. It's a waste of time trying to argue with you Straw-Hats."

"Damn right," Zoro smirked, chugging down another glass. "It'd be easier to just let us have our way."

Law scowled and suppressed the urge to sigh again before he put the mug down and slowly stood up. "I'm gonna go for a stroll." The pirate said, walking away from Zoro and into the crowd of other pirates.

As Law slowly made his way through the mob of people, he glanced around and observed his surroundings. Everywhere he looked, there wasn't one person who was _not_ celebrating. All of the people were on full banquet mode, with some of them already drunk like Cavendish and Chinjao. There were food and drinks everywhere, and Law was wondering if the chefs had enough to feed them all.

Although Law never celebrated often for anything, he got to admit, this was a pleasant change. After what they had gone through with the fiasco at Dressrosa, he'd say that they definitely deserved to relax and have a party for a few days.

Before he knew it, Law was already standing near the railing of the ship. The ex-Shichibukai walked closer and leaned on the rail, closing his eyes and letting himself have a breath of the fresh air for the first time in days.

He could get used to this.

Just as he was about to relax even more, Law heard a voice from a small group of five people on his left.

"Big Boss Straw-Hat was so cool earlier, announcing his dream to be the Pirate King and all!" A short man exclaimed, grinning excitedly.

Law opened his left eye and observed the five men. All of them were smiling, holding a glass of booze in their hands. Noticing nothing out of the ordinary, Law merely closed his eye and relaxed again.

"Yeah," Another man said. "I believe he's going to be the one to find One Piece later."

"Are you sure? I mean, there are a lot of people out there that has the same dream, you know. And some of them are very strong."

The man's tone instantly caught Law's attention and he opened his left eye, silently watching the five people again. Law had met all kinds of different people from the past few years, ranging from the good to the bad. Thanks to his experience, he could easily identify a type of person just by hearing their tone.

And that man's tone was _definitely_ suspicious, if not anything else.

The previous man shrugged. "True, some of them are probably stronger than our Big Boss. But, I have a feeling that he'll beat them all and be the Pirate King first."

"I fully agree." The other man nodded.

The suspicious man scowled for a brief second and sent a quick glance to two other men before he turned to his empty glass and blinked.

"Oops, my booze is running empty," The man smiled sheepishly as he walked away from his friends. "I'm gonna go get some more."

"Ah! I'll go with you," A man exclaimed, following not far behind him. "I also want a refill."

"Me too." Another man said, catching up to them.

The other two men nodded, waving unsuspectingly. "Alright, be back soon you three!"

"Yeah, we will!" They answered, waving back as the three men walked to, what seemed to be, the storage room and carefully closed the door.

By now, Law had both of his eyes opened and narrowed. He was about to quietly follow the trio when he noticed two familiar people standing near him, both with scrutinizing faces. "Orlumbus- _ya_. Leo- _ya_."

Leo nodded, already knowing Law's motive. "Yes, Lawland."

"We know," Orlumbus answered.

Law stared at the two before he nodded as well. Then in unison, the trio slowly and warily walked towards the door, mindful to not be suspicious as well.

* * *

 

Inside the notably storage room, which was filled with supplies and barrels, the suspicious man's demeanor instantly changed and his smile was replaced by a scowl. The man gritted his teeth and held the mug in his hand so tight, the wood mildly cracked.

Behind him, the two men glanced at each other and frowned. "Boss, about what they said-"

"Ignore it. We're going to prove them wrong," The man hissed, turning around. "The one who's gonna be the Pirate King isn't our new 'Big Boss', it'll be _me_."

The two men were, fortunately, quick to nod. "Yes, Boss. We believe in you," One of them said.

The other was silent for a moment before he asked, "How long are we going to stay here, Boss?"

"Until we have a bit more information, boys," The man replied, glancing at the circle window near him. "When we have what we need, we'll quit this crew and set sail towards Raftel ourselves."

The other man frowned again. "But, Boss. Straw-Hat is an incredibly strong foe. If we have to battle him in the future, what are we going to-"

" _Room_."

All three men gasped and sharply turned towards their new company, who was calmly sitting on a nearby barrel, the same spot where a plate of food was just earlier.

"I think you don't need to worry about that." Law half-smiled, putting his elbows on his knees.

One of the men instantly recognized Law's face. "You're-!"

"Don't get your hopes up about moving," Suddenly, Leo appeared on Law's knee, holding a needle in his small hand. "Cause I just stitched your shoes to the floor."

The three men quickly looked down and found their shoes sewed to the ground. They grunted and tried to move, but to no avail. Then, one of the men got an idea. "If that's the case, then-"

"I sewed it to your pants too," Leo cut him off, smirking. "Don't even think about it."

The men checked the sleeves of their pants and true to Leo's word, it was stitched up as well. All of them started to sweat, their hearts beating rapidly inside their chest.

"I'm disappointed in you, Hide," Orlumbus' deep voice bellowed behind them. Said man turned his head around in shock at the sight of his captain just as Orlumbus added, "From the moment you joined, I knew you had potential. But sadly, you've chosen the wrong path."

"C-Captain Orlumbus!" Hide exclaimed from his position. "When did you-"

"You really must not know me enough if you weren't aware of my abilities, boy," Orlumbus stated, his face showing both disappointment and disapproval.

"You know what they say," Law half-shrugged. "Don't judge a book by its cover."

"Nor by its size," Leo added.

Orlumbus gazed at his anxious crewmates before him and glanced at the door. "Trafalgar, have you-"

"No need to fret. I made sure no one would eavesdrop or anything." Law smiled, twiddling his fingers absentmindedly like he was controlling something from the outside.

"I stitched the door too, just in case," Leo stated.

Orlumbus nodded, turning back to glare at his three men. "Good."

Hide and his friends visibly cowered under their captain's glare. "C-Captain Orlumbus, I can explain," Hide stuttered. "What you heard earlier was-"

"Enough." Orlumbus interrupted, crossing his huge arms. Hide and his two friends flinched at the furious tone and their eyes went back and forth between Orlumbus, Leo, and Law in fright.

"You know," Leo started, swiftly jumping to another nearby barrel beside Hide. "When I first met Luffyland a few days ago, I already knew that he's an incredibly stubborn person-" Leo paused, gazing at Hide while fiddling with his needle innocently. "- _especially_ when it comes to his dreams."

"It'll be a pain if his enemies increase. Because if that happens, he's going to go on and on about being the Pirate King for longer than necessary," Orlumbus added. "Which isn't actually annoying, but it has to stop sooner or later."

"And, it'll be troublesome if you mess with him like how a certain _person_ did." Law narrowed his eyes, recalling how Blackbeard had tried to capture Luffy two years ago but was stopped by Fire-Fist Ace.

And, you know how _that_ turned out.

"You know, Hide," Orlumbus' voice cut off Law's train of thought. "Leo and I are now part of the Straw-Hat Grand Fleet."

Law sighed. "And unfortunately, I'm still holding an alliance with Straw-Hat- _ya_ right now."

"You know what that means, don't you?" Leo asked, his smile turning to a not-so-innocent smirk.

Hide and his friends' faces instantly went as white as a sheet. Simultaneously, the three men wondered back to the vow Bartolomeo had made not an hour ago.

_"We now become Straw-Hat Luffy-senpai's followers and we'll be his shield or pike in all weather! To repay him for what he did, we seven will drink out of these Sons' cups of our own volition, devoting our lives and souls!"_

Hide and the two beside him visibly gulped in fear.

Orlumbus took that sign as a yes. "Alright. Then, I assume you already know what's going to happen."

"You should be grateful, 'cause we're giving you a _special_ service," Leo smirked, fiddling with the needle in his grip. "Consider it a gift for making this our first elimination together."

"Never guessed that you'd have a dark side, Leo- _ya_." Law half-smirked at the small figure. Leo merely shrugged.

Hide, on the other hand, paled even more - if that was possible. "...E-Elimination?"

"Don't worry, we won't kill you," Law said, though his action of unsheathing his own sword was no way reassuring. "We're just scratching off a few potential foes from the list, that's all."

"That's right," Orlumbus nodded, cracking his knuckles in a not-so-subtle way behind the trio. "We're Straw-Hat Luffy's allies, meaning that we'll help each other in every way possible."

"Luffyland already helped us take back Dressrosa," Leo gently touched the edge of his needle to test the sharpness before adding, "This is the least we can do to repay him."

Hide and the two men couldn't do anything _but_ stand there – rooted to the spot, thanks to Leo's stitches – and watch as three of Straw-Hat Luffy's strongest allies slowly advance towards them. The trio trembled in fear when they could almost _feel_ each of the three allies' gazes burn a hole through their skulls.

"Pass on this message to the rest of your fellas, okay Hide?" Orlumbus bellowed again.

But said man wasn't able to answer his former captain's request at all because the words instantly died on his throat just as he saw the edge of Law's sword glistening beneath his jaw.

By now, a dark and almost evil aura had completely encircled the six people inside the storage room. Law, Orlumbus, and Leo had _frighteningly_ similar malicious smirks etched on their faces, all three of them completely prepared to attack at any time.

"If you're going to get in Straw-Hat- _ya_ 's way," Law muttered, his eyes glinting in contrast to the dark atmosphere around them. "You have to go through us first."

And then, Law struck.

* * *

 

"Captain Orlumbus, did you see Hide and the others?" Two men quickly approached Orlumbus after he exited the storage room with Law and Leo.

"Oh, they're going... _out_ for a while," Orlumbus replied, glancing at the sea below them.

The two men's eyes widened, instantly knowing the true meaning to the crew-only term. "...I-I see, sir." The duo muttered.

Orlumbus gave a reassuring pat on the shoulder to his men before he walked away and caught up with Leo and Law.

"Good job, you two," Orlumbus muttered, his voice inaudible to the crowd of celebrating people around them.

Leo smiled as he sat on Law's shoulder. "It's our pleasure."

"Remember, nothing goes out of that room," Law strictly reminded. "We don't want to scare anyone off."

Both Leo and Orlumbus nodded. "You got it," Leo said, patting Law's shoulder gently.

"Alright, friends," Orlumbus' scowl was quickly replaced by an excited grin as the jolly atmosphere got the better of him. "Let's go back to celebrating!"

"Yeah!" Leo grinned, instantly disappearing off of Law's shoulder to go back to his friends. Law merely rolled his eyes and turned away, making his way towards the ship railing. When he was there, Law leaned against the rail and resumed his held-off relaxing session.

Again, he could get used to this.

"Oi, Tra-guy!" Zoro's voice broke Law out of his session.

Law blinked and groaned. He should've known that it wouldn't be that easy.

"I told you, it's _Trafalgar!_ " Law shouted towards the approaching Zoro.

But, the swordsman merely ignored Law and leaned against the railing while holding out two mugs full of sake in his hands. "Wanna go for another round?" Zoro offered, smirking.

Law's eye twitched in annoyance as he stared at his own reflection on the booze. At first, Law was about to protest because right now he just wanted to do nothing but _relax_ , until he remembered that he was dealing with one of the Straw-Hats, who were _incredibly_ infamous for its stubborn behavior.

Not wanting to waste both his time and energy, Law let out a sigh and reluctantly took the offered mug of booze with his hands. "Fine."

Zoro's grin grew slightly and this time, he held out his own mug. "Cheers."

Law scowled but he raised his mug anyway, not saying a word as he slowly drank the contents inside. Zoro followed his example and gulped down his sake too.

For some time, the two pirates drank in silence, letting the loud noise from the banquet fill their ears. At some point, Law averted his attention from the crowd before him to the clear blue sky above, allowing his thoughts to fill his head once again.

"Nice work back there," Zoro finally spoke.

Law turned to him with a questioning look, which Zoro answered by glancing at the storage room a few feet away. Law's eyes widened slightly, surprised that the first mate even knew about it. Last he checked, no one had gone near the storage room when they were inside.

He must've shown some of his disbelief on his face, because Zoro's lips tugged upwards, forming a small smirk. "I look out for him too, you know," The green-haired said as he turned to look at his captain, who was too busy eating a huge piece of meat to notice.

Law raised an eyebrow, still curious to how Zoro had known. But the ex-Shichibukai brushed it off, knowing not to put too much thought on how Straw-Hats do their business.

"I was merely taking out the trash. Nothing more," Law casually stated, taking another sip of his booze.

Zoro remained silent, his gaze still focused on the rubber boy before him. After several minutes, the first mate finally turned his head and sent a stern stare towards Law. "The same goes to you, by the way."

Law blinked, bemused to what Zoro was talking about. Then, his mind quickly caught up with him and Law recalled what he had said earlier in the storage room.

_"If you're going to get in Straw-Hat-ya's way, you have to go through us first."_

Comprehension washed over Law's face and he immediately understood. He looked up and faced Zoro's serious gaze for a second before a mysterious urge built up inside of him, making Law glance at the other Straw-Hats as well.

To his utmost surprise, every single Straw-Hat, except for Luffy, stared back at him with similar looks of sternness. None of their faces held even a hint of their happy emotions from earlier.

Franky and Robin narrowed their eyes and silently scrutinized Law from a few feet away. Even Usopp, who Law considered to be one of the most childish people on the crew, gave him a stare that consisted of no humor at all.

Now, Law was beyond confused. The other three Straw-Hats were all several yards away from Zoro and him, yet they stared back at him like they had been there the entire time. Law could still understand Robin since her powers enabled her to do so, but he had no clue to how the other two males managed to hear too.

It's as if every time something concerns of their captain, the Straw-Hats would beat the laws of the universe and be there in a split second.

That statement sounded _so much_ like the actual Straw-Hats themselves, Law couldn't help but crack a smile.

_Your friends are truly something else, Straw-Hat-ya._

"Rest easy," Law finally told Zoro, who was _still_ giving him a stern look. "I don't intend to."

Zoro narrowed his one eye at Law for a moment before his features relaxed and he nodded. "Good." Then, Zoro went back to drinking his sake, acting like nothing out of the ordinary had happened at all.

Out of the corner of his eye, Law could see the other Straw-Hats relaxing as well before going back to whatever they were doing earlier. Law's lips tugged upwards and he shook his head slightly, glancing at the rubber boy, who was the center of it all, yet he was completely oblivious to what just happened.

Note to self; never upset the Straw-Hats.

Ever.


End file.
